In Max We Trust
by maispecialk
Summary: The Flock is hanging out in Arizona helping Dr. Martinez recover after her time with Mr. Chu, but some familiar faces start causing trouble. Fax was gone for a while but is on the comeback :
1. Chapter 1

**I've written fanfics before but never published them. Here's the first one I've had the guts to put out for public viewing. I own nothing, that's all J Pattz, the man! Alex Trebeck owns Jeopardy, I don't care what the credits say. What I do own is my own imagination and obsessive nature that leads me to writing these things. Hope you enjoy! **

I think I've told you this before but I'm a bird-kid. By bird kid, I mean some of my DNA is not human, it's bird. You may think that a little DNA isn't a big deal, but believe me it is. It's enough to give me really thin and light bones, air-sacs (kinda like lungs, but a little different), and wings. Nope, you didn't read that wrong. I have wings. Like the kind of wings that let me fly. Being able to fly is the second best part of my life. The best part of my life is my family. My family is 5 other bird kids I like to call my flock. First, there's Fang. He's my…well, I don't know what to call him. He's kind of like my boyfriend but a little bit more than that. He's my right wing man, and trust me, the right wing is as important to us as your right hand is to you. He's the only person that I trust as much as I do myself. I've known him all my life, but our relationship kind of evolved from a sibling type of relationship to a best friend relationship and now, into whatever our relationship is. Don't ask me what it is. I'm not into labels. The next oldest is Iggy. He's the same age as Fang and I, but unfortunately he's blind. That doesn't stop him from causing trouble so don't feel bad. Nudge is after Iggy. Nudge is our resident mouthpiece, as in the one that never shuts up. She's still loveable nonetheless. After Nudge is the Gasman. His name should say enough. Lastly, after Gazzy is Angel, his younger sister. She's the youngest of the flock and a telepath. She's like Goldilocks with a really nasty temperament. She may only be 6 years old or so, but can take out most black belts.

Anyway, we've been on the run from various bad guys and just trying to survive. We had a break in our saving the world agenda and found my real mom and my sister, Ella. Sometimes I feel guilty because I found my family and the other kids haven't. So far though, my mom, Dr. Martinez, and Ella have taken the flock in as their own. We're kinda of like a Brady Bunch gone wrong. Daddy Brady's around too, but that story's a little complicated. Dr. Jeb Batchelder took care of the flock when we escaped from the lab called The School. He came with us and took care of us for years, until he decided to go all evil and go back to The School. We kicked The School's butt and Jeb stuck with us, claiming to be on our side again. Since then he's been like a bad rash that we have to deal with every once in a while.

The flock and I had just gotten back to Arizona. I walked up the stairs of my mom's house, smelling chocolate chip cookies coming out of the screen door. I opened the door with the flock behind me, ready to give my mom a scolding for being up and around so early. We'd only rescued her last week! She had been given two weeks bed rest and some pain medications. I walked in to see Ella in the kitchen pulling cookies out of the oven with Jeb watching over her. Brigid and John were sitting at the dining room table, smiling at us. "Hey Max! Hey guys!" Ella beamed at us, excited that we were home. Well, as much of a home as we can have. Brigid and John stood up giving the flock hugs. I stared Brigid down as her arms enveloped Fang in a hug. I smiled to myself when he didn't respond. I gave Ella and John a hug, giving Jeb and Brigid a brief nod. "Where's mom?" I asked Ella. "She's asleep. Her pain medication makes her really sleepy. She's doing a lot better though. She'll be really happy to see you." She replied. I looked at Jeb for confirmation. "Her condition has improved. She should be waking up soon." He stated. "Those smell so good. Can I grab one?" Iggy asked leaning around me to grab a cookie off of the baking sheet. "Careful! They're hot!" Ella warned. Iggy took 3 cookies with a mischievous smile. "No worries." He grinned. "You guys put your stuff down and relax." John said. "Max, come put your stuff down in my room. I put a sleeping bag on the floor so we can have girl talk when everyone else is asleep tonight." Ella whispered with a giggle. What Ella didn't know was that they rest of the flock had really sensitive hearing, being related to birds and all. I saw them look at each other with smirks on their faces. They knew I loved girl talk liked they loved by poked by cattle prods. But I liked Ella a lot, so I was willing to go with it. I looked at them and rolled my eyes, heading towards Ella's bedroom.

Ella offered to cook dinner for everyone. Jeb recommended ordering pizza so everyone could talk and relax until we reminded him of what happened the last time that we ordered pizza. "If I hadn't seen the wires we'd all be dead splattered like a Jackson Pollock painting." Gazzy beamed with a smile. The flock looked at Gazzy wondering who Jackson Pollock was. "I saw his painting when we were in New York. Trust me, it would have been bad." He smiled, obviously proud of himself. "I'm so glad your talent for blowing things up actually paid off for once Gaz." I smiled. "Is everyone okay with chicken enchiladas?" Ella asked. I thought it was so funny that a normal kid our age was taking responsibility and not in a save the world kind of way. "Ooh! That sound sooooo good!" Nudge squealed with delight. Everyone else gave nods of approval as Ella walked into the kitchen. "Do you want some help?" Iggy called. Ella's face held a confused face for a moment. I'm sure she was wondering why the blind guy offered to help, but she accepted. Little did she know that Iggy was our resident cook. The only thing the rest of us could cook was take out. The two walked into the kitchen living the rest of us to talk. "What's the plan of action, Max?" John asked me. "I'm sure Chu is on the move. We'll stay here for a couple of weeks and then start looking for him. We can help with the CSM while we're here too. We're just going to regroup, try to do some research to try and find Chu." I replied. I slipped a glance at Jeb who was looking at me cautiously. "Any help that we could get would be appreciated." I stated, looking at him. To my surprise, it was Brigid who piped up instead. "Is this a good idea Max? Chu is really powerful, but he suffered a major loss in Hawaii. It will probably be a while before he's up to any of his old tricks. Shouldn't we be working on more pressing matters?" she asked. "Brigid, by old tricks do you mean threatening bird-kids and shooting them in the wings?" I asked pulling my wing around and pointing at the spot where his goon's bullets had hit me. "I didn't know…" Brigid said weakly. "There are a lot of things that you don't know." I replied harshly with eyes narrowed. Brigid and Fang had become close when we were on our trip to Antarctica and I never really knew what had happened between them, but I knew I didn't like it. What Brigid didn't know that I knew was that I had seen her and Chu talking and I didn't trust her one bit. "Max…" Fang said to me in a chastising tone. My narrow gaze shifted to him. Unlike Brigid, he didn't exactly cower. He'd seen that look on my face for fourteen years so it wasn't nearly as scary for him. "Max, I have to agree with Brigid. There are more serious issues at hand right now. Chu will take time before he's active again. He will move around and settle in somewhere new. In addition to that I'm sure there are several other people who aren't happy with him. He'll have to contend with them too. You may have to face it Max, you may not have your chance at him" Jeb replied. "What do you know about him?" I asked Jeb directly. He shied away, his face shutting down. "Max, not right now. Let's just enjoy being here." He replied. I was about to protest when John stepped in. "Jeb's right about that part Max. There will be plenty of time to worry about these things. Right now we need to focus on Valencia's recovery and letting you guys recover from your trip. Take a break, Max. You've had a rough time these past few months. Don't borrow trouble." He smiled kindly. I felt Fang blending into the couch as he sat next to me. He'd been still and silent. I snuck a glance at him. His head sunk down a fraction of an inch, telling me to go with it. No one else would have understood the movement but me, and maybe Angel, but only because she could read his mind. "Fine. I'm going for a fly." I said standing.


	2. Chapter 2

**I've written fanfics before but never published them. Here's the first one I've had the guts to put out for public viewing. I own nothing, that's all J Pattz, the man! Alex Trebeck owns Jeopardy, I don't care what the credits say. What I do own is my own imagination and obsessive nature that leads me to writing these things. Hope you enjoy! **

I took off running off of the front steps. I heard Fang a couple steps behind me doing the same thing. He caught up to me faster than I expected. "You ok?" He asked. "Tired of being told what to do. My mom is pinned up in bed for two weeks suffering from dehydration and tons of pain because of the torture Chu put her through. I'm ready to make someone pay for that." I answered truthfully. This was the great thing about Fang. I could tell him anything and I knew he would understand. "Something's not right. Jeb knows something." He told me. I nodded. That knowledge was even more frustrating. "I'll get to the bottom of it." I muttered.

Fang and I flew out to the desert we had flown to a few weeks ago. The last time we were here Fang had told me that "he chose me", whatever that means and kissed the living daylights out of me. I could only pray for a repeat experience. He sat leaning against a warm boulder and pulled me onto his lap, resting my head against his chest. "It'll be okay. John's right. We have a break right now. We should make the most of it." Fang stated staring at me and tucking my hair behind my ear. I shivered despite the warm summer night. I looked up at him. If taking a break meant more time with Fang, I was in. I inched my head up working my way up for a kiss, but was surprised when my lips were met before I expected them too. This kiss was different than I expected. Fang's hand rested on my cheek delicately but his lips were fierce and hungry. And I had no problem with that. I pressed myself against him and returned the kiss with everything I had. I'd wanted to do this months ago, the first time we kissed on the beach, but I'm not big on emotions, so I held back. Plus, it would have hurt Fang as he was seriously injured. Anyway, this had been building up for a while now, at least on my end, and hopefully Fang's too. When we parted he and I were both breathless. We stared deeply at each other, trying to predict the other's next movement. I recalled his safe warm body against mine moments before and fought the urge to kiss him again. His dark eyes looked like he was having the same struggle. "Are you ok? I'm not trying…" his voice trailed assessing my reaction to his unfinished question. "I'm fine. " I replied, not expanding any more than that. "If I…If I need to slow down or if you get freaked out or anything…" he started. He knew that I sometimes had a fight or flight response when it came to showing him how I felt, so he wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to freak and bail on him. Restraining myself when that happened was something I was working on. "I'll let you know." I promised with a small smile. Our noses touched and our heads rested against each other for a while. "We should go back. The kids will start to talk if we're gone too long." He whispered to me. "Yeah. Ella will be mad if we miss dinner." I stated. "Do you know…?" I started to ask Fang a question but decided against it. I was probably just imagining things. He looked at me confused for a moment. "Don't worry about it. Later." I replied.

We made it back home just in time for dinner. Jeb looked at Fang and I with disapproval but realized it was better not to say anything unless he wanted a bone broken. Ella had just pulled the enchiladas out of the oven when we got back. "Those smell great!" Angel said smiling. "Thanks! Iggy had a great idea of putting just a little bit of cayenne pepper in the sauce for a little heat. Hope that's okay with everyone" She smiled. Iggy had a smirk on his face. He liked being complimented for his cooking skills. "Yum!! Can we eat yet?" Nudge asked. "Let me take it. It's heavy" Iggy said taking the glass dish from Ella with a towel. "Thanks, Iggy." she replied grabbing the sour cream from the counter. "I'll get mom." She replied, heading towards mom's room. Mom came out yawning as Ella helped her down the hall. She was in a pair of sweats and her normally perfect wavy hair was in a messy bun, but she was still so pretty. "Valencia let me help." John said, meeting her at the end of the hall. "I can walk, John. Thanks though. I just get a little dizzy sometimes." She said quietly. "Ella, honey, this smells amazing. I'm so proud of you. You do so much around the house. And you're such a big help with the CSM. You're such a wonderful daughter. I appreciate you so much." Mom smiled dopily as she sat down. Mom's medicine not only made her groggy but it obviously made her talk a lot too. I could understand talking too much while under the influence of prescription medication. I had a similar experience with some valium a few months ago. I felt my face grow red from embarrassment. More than that though, I felt a surge of jealousy. I had been jealous before because Ella had gotten more time with my mom than I had. Now, it had just gotten worse as Mom showered her with praise. I would be able to cook too if I hadn't been spending the last ten years learning how to fight bad guys and keeping the flock safe. I could help out more with the CSM too, if I didn't have that stupid destiny of saving the world. Fang grabbed my hand, which I hadn't realized was clenched. "Thanks Mom. Iggy helped. Time to dig in guys!" Ella said smiling meekly but accepting her compliment. I felt Angel looking at me. I peeked over at her. She sent me the sweetest smile that a mind controlling six year old could possibly send and I felt better immediately. "Ella may be a good daughter, Max, but you're a good mom. Fang's a good daddy too." Angel thought into my head (it goes along with the telepathy). I tried to not freak out as she said the words into my head and returned the smile awkwardly. "Max?!" Iggy yelled in my ear. I shook my head. "What?!" I yelled back. "Sour cream, please." He requested. Iggy wasn't asking for the sour cream because he is blind, mind you. Iggy was asking for the sour cream because he couldn't reach it. When my flock had learned table manners was absolutely beyond me, but for a second I felt the same kind of pride for Angel and Iggy that Mom had felt for Ella.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3. I still don't' own anything. Characters courtesy of James Patterson. =-)**

"So, what is the CSM doing next?" Nudge asked John and Brigid. "I was lucky enough to get a sample of the…goo…that the krelp used to help Max, Angel, and Valencia. I'm trying to understand what they are, and what species they're related to. " Brigid spouted enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes. "We're looking at ways to gain publicity and raise money. The air shows helped, but they weren't safe. We're trying to come up with ways to gain that revenue and attention back. Do you think you guys might be able to help before you go gunning for Mr. Chu?" John asked. "We'll do what we can while we're here." I agreed. "We're open to any ideas anyone might have", John added. "What about a website?" Fang asked. "We've thought about that. With the danger associated with the air shows though, we haven't made any definite decisions. We don't really want anyone to be able to find us…or you guys." John said, with reference to the flock. I nodded appreciatively. "We can run everything using post office boxes and toll free numbers. We can set up a PayPal account to collect donations too." Fang suggested between bites. "That's a great idea, Fang". Brigid beamed. John sent her a "you're treading on thin ice, you should be careful" look. "That's a great idea, Nudge." Angel said though Nudge hadn't uttered a word. My normally bubbly and outgoing Nudge looked down, seemingly embarrassed. I'd never seen her embarrassed before. "What is it Nudge?" I asked. "Well, I was just thinking…maybe I could help. I could help design shirts or something that we could sell on the website. All the profits could go to the CSM." She stated with hesitation. "That is a great idea, Nudge." I smiled. "We could put a pair of wings on the back." Iggy joked with a smile. "I think that would be really cool. I want wings." Ella beamed. Iggy shrugged. Even though he was joking, Ella liked his idea and I did too. It was creative and it put a little flock twist on the CSM that was missing since we couldn't do the air shows anymore. "Those are all really good ideas, guys. " John affirmed. "We'll start working on that when Valencia's feeling better." He said looking at my mom with a small smile. Maybe it was the medication but I could have sworn she was smiling back the same way.

The beauty of being leader is that you get to delegate. "Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel, you guys are on dish duty." I said as everyone finished eating. They agreed with a few mumbles. I looked over at my mom. She looked exhausted, but she had eaten all of her food though, so she must have been hungry. "Mom, why don't you go back to bed? We'll take care of everything" I suggested. I wished she was feelings better so that I could spend more time with her, but her recovery was what was most important. She got up and walked back to her room. I noticed Jeb stand up to try and help her, but I beat him to the punch, standing by her side and walking slowly to catch her if she fell. "I'm glad you're here, Max" she smiled. "Me too, Mom." Even if I do have to put up with Jeb.

The flock and I were sitting on the porch when Jeb came out after dinner. "I think the best course of action for everyone is to focus on the CSM right now." Jeb said in his parental voice that always got me defiant and wound up. I fought the urge to punch him in the face and tried to voice reason, and affirming my position as leader of the flock. "I decide what's best for the flock now. For right now, working with the CSM is what we'll do but we can't stay very long. I have to start looking for Chu soon." I replied, being proud of myself for keeping my cool. "Why? Why can't you just leave him alone?" Jeb asked angrily. "You don't know about him Max. He's powerful and he will come down on you and the flock. You are putting our family at risk for no reason other than revenge." He concluded. My anger flared and I was ready to take something down. I pushed back from the table and stood menacingly. "Our family?" I shouted furiously. "You haven't been a part of our family since you put your white coat back on, Jeb. This flock has taken care of each other since you left! You have no right to include yourself in any concept of family that we have! And I will take Chu down! Look at what he did to my mom! Besides, he's against everything the CSM stands for! He's killing and hurting animals and probably humans too, for no reason. You better believe that I will fight against him with everything I have. " I screamed back. Jeb's face looked hurt and betrayed. Like I cared. He was the whole reason Angel had been taken back to the school and the rest of us were captured. If Iggy and Gazzy hadn't escaped from the erasers and set us free we would still be in cages with needles sticking in us. Pardon me if I'm a little bitter. "Max, calm down. We'll worry about it later. Let's just enjoy being here." Fang said giving me a knowing look. He knew that trying to calm me down would usually make me angry, but something in his eyes made me react differently. I had a feeling that Fang knew something and his look said, I'll tell you later. "Max, I don't know how many times I can say I'm sorry. I am your father though, and regardless of what has happened in the past, please know that I want the best for you, every single one of you." He said, looking at the rest of the flock too.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own these guys, James Patterson does. Read the books. Enjoy my ideas (hopefully!) =-)**

My mom's house had two extra bedrooms besides hers and Ella's. My mom and Jeb always wanted the boys and the girls to sleep in separate rooms, ignoring the fact that we've had to sleep in subway tunnels and trees before right next to each other. We aren't likely to try any funny stuff, we're just grateful to have a place to sleep. "Max, I need to talk to you. Alone." Jeb whispered as the others gathered in the living room for Jeopardy. It's the bird-kid equivalent of education. Everything we've learned has either been from books or television. I rolled my eyes but agreed. "I'll be right back." I mouthed to Fang. He eyed me suspiciously when he saw me head for the door with Jeb, but nodded in agreement. "Max, we need to talk." Jeb started as we stepped off of the porch. "Talk." I said cutting to the chase. "There are people gunning for Chu. I'll be surprised if he survives for the next 2 or 3 weeks. He angered a lot of people. He took money from many…investors, most of them illegal, of course. His operation collapsing threw all of that money out the window." He stated. "Fine. I'll give it two or three weeks and if he's not dead, I'll go after him myself." I wouldn't kill him, but I would kick his ass worse than David Beckham's favorite soccer ball. I turned to go back into the house. "Max, I'm not done." Jeb stated. I looked at him, my eyes narrowing, wondering what else he wanted. "Be careful of who you trust. Not everything is the way that it seems. Some people…well, I don't know their agenda." He said. "I got that in my fortune cookie last week. Thanks for the heads up." I returned snidely. I didn't want to let him know that I already knew about Brigid's link to Chu. I didn't know his level of involvement with that situation. Even though he was warning me about her, he wasn't exactly pointing the finger at her either. "Max, I'm serious. Some people around us…they can't be trusted." He finished. "Are we done yet?" I asked with irritation. "No. Not yet. There's one other thing. You and Fang. It wasn't supposed to happen like this Max. You weren't meant to be together. This is a phase. It's not going to work and it could end up hurting the flock." I glared at him, not even validating his words with a response. "You'll see Max. Just watch how things unfold. But please, if you are serious about leading the flock try and set a good example for them. No monkey business in front of them. I'm sorry you're going to get hurt. " He said in a sad tone. I turned my back and walked back to the house slamming the screen door behind me

"You ok?" Fang asked quietly as I came in. I sat next to him on the couch. He pulled my legs over his lap and kissed me softly on the cheek. "It will get better." Angel whispered in my head. I used the opportunity to talk to Angel in my head. If she was going to hang out in there, the least she could do is make herself useful. "Angel, do you get anything from Jeb?" I asked initially. "Nothing. It's like he's dead. Maybe he learned how to keep me out." She replied with regret. I couldn't help but feel slightly excited at the possibility. "Sorry, Ange. If anyone's going to be in my head, I would prefer you." I stated before she could get offended. "I understand. He is right about Brigid though. I can't tell how involved she is with Chu, but I know it has something to do with money. She was thinking about how much money he gave her. She feels kind of bad for doing it but she's holding something back too. I can't get it." Angel said. "It's okay baby. Thanks for looking out for us. Anything else I should know?" I asked. "Gotta go!" she said in my head and smiling at me. The flock gathered in the living room and stacked hands for our normal night time ritual. "Come on, Max! Let's go to bed! We need to catch up." Ella smiled slyly. I internally groaned. "She's your sister, not a white coat. Have fun." Fang said with a smirk.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, I'm not James Patterson, so I don't own these guys. Hope you enjoy though!**

The boy's room just happened to be next to Ella's bedroom. I wondered if that was a coincidence or if they had done that on purpose so Fang could listen to Ella and I talk. It may seem a little like a conspiracy theory, but when you've lived through conspiracy theories that's how you think. "So…you and Fang?" Ella asked with a smile. I figured that's what the topic of discussion would be, since to Ella nothing else has changed. Sure, her mom was hurt but she would get better. Things for the flock are always changing though. Fang and I had developed gills so we can breathe underwater. We'd thwarted Mr. Chu's evil plans so far, and we had been subjected to Naval military training to prove we could hang with them. For Ella, the last big change in her life was who she was going with to the Homecoming dance. "Yeah, you know, we're just hanging out more and stuff." That was lie. We hung out the same amount of time we always had, you know being on the run from evil 24 hours a day and all. "Yeah, but you're like cuddling and kissing and stuff." She giggled. I felt my face grow red. I don't like talking about feelings. At all. I would rather smash a hundred evil scientists into a bloody pulp than tell the flock how much I love them, especially Fang. "Are you in love with him?" Ella asked slyly. I felt my face get even hotter. The question took me by surprise. "I…um…uh…" I stammered over the question, not wanting to answer. "You are!" She exclaimed in a whisper. I held my face in my hands so she couldn't see it. I'd had a brain attack and yelled at a voice in my head in the middle of New York. This was way more embarrassing. I couldn't say that I wasn't in love with him because I honestly didn't know. I hadn't thought about it that much. We were just perfect for each other. I didn't harp on the titles very much. "What's it like?" Ella asked brightly. "Being in love?" I asked. She nodded. "I don't really know, El. I just know about our relationship and I don't really know what it is. He's just…perfect for me, you know? He knows me so well he can say things or do things that really mean a lot to me. Like, when we got mom back. He promised he would let me take her captors out all by myself. And he turned down Brigid to spend time with me. He makes me feel better just by smiling at me. He just…he understands me better than anyone else." I said simply.

Now, before you go assuming that I spill my guts to anyone, let me just say this. Ella is my sister and I'm explaining this to her to help her out. One day she'll meet a guy and hopefully feel the same way about him as I do Fang. This is also not to say that this conversation was easy. I was tempted to run out of the door and fly 300 miles away to avoid it. But that would be like running from the cops, an automatic admission of guilt. "That's so sweet! I liked this boy at school, Chase but he turned out to be an asshole. Don't tell Mom that, ok? I'm not allowed to curse, I'll get in trouble." I laughed lightly. "Your secret is safe with me." I was out of hot water and out of the spotlight. Mom was just lucky Ella didn't spend that much time with us. The flock's language is horrible. We've tried to do better as Angel grows up but considering that we frequently get kicked, punch, and elbowed in the face we know plenty of four letter words. Mom may not want us hanging around too much. "I'm really tired, El. I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning?" I asked. "See you. Sleep tight." She replied hazily.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm not cool enough to own Maximum Ride. Who is? Google James Patterson**

I woke up in the morning as Ella was getting ready for school. "Morning!" She smiled. "Good morning." I yawned."I wish I could stay home from school with you guys, but Jeb has been making me go ever since we got back. He says I can't miss just because you guys are here. Sometimes it feels like he thinks he's my dad too." Ella said sadly. Ella's father had died when she was younger. I knew talking about it made her sad. My mom got sad when she talked about it too, so we didn't bring it up much. As Ella was putting her shirt on I noticed a bruise in the crook of her elbow. "El, what happened to your arm?" I asked, observing the yellow and blue around what looked like a needle mark. She blushed pinkly. "I kinda freaked out last week before we found mom. I was crying and I couldn't breathe and stuff. Jeb gave me a shot to calm me down and help me sleep." She replied shyly. My mind rang with suspicion. "What did he give you El?" I asked trying to keep my voice calm. "I don't know. Xanax or Klonapin or something. He just said I would calm down and fall asleep." She stated. My mind screamed to me that something wasn't right. Why did he give her an injection? Was he up to something? It was Jeb. Of course he was up to something. I put a fake smile on my face. Not many people would question its sincerity. "I'm glad you're feeling better." I said. "Thanks Max. Me too. How about lasagna for dinner tonight?" She asked excitedly. "Sounds great. Have fun at school." I smiled cheerfully even though my mind was screaming at me to find out what was going on.

I walked into the kitchen to find my mom sitting at the dining room table. Even though she was supposed to be on bed rest, I was excited to see her up and around. "Mom, you're up!" I smiled. "Hi, honey. How are you?" she asked giving me a hug. "I'm okay. I missed you." I told her honestly. "I missed you too, honey. How have things been while I've been out?" she asked. "We just got in yesterday, and so far things have been okay. I'm not really sure about anything before that. John, Brigid and Jeb have been around a lot." I replied while getting a cup of coffee. "Are you okay with that?" she asked in response. I wasn't sure who she was assuming I would have a problem with, Jeb or Brigid. "It's okay with me as long as it's okay with you." I answered. I thought about my response and hoped my mom would see the underlying meaning of my answer. In case she didn't, I decided to just say what I was thinking. "Mom, do you think that Jeb is up to something?" I asked lightly, as he was just in the other room. The question seemed to take her off guard. "You're worried about Jeb?" she asked with surprise. Asking if I was worried about Jeb was like asking an accountant if they were worried about money. It was my job to be worried about Jeb. After his history with the flock it was doubtful that any of us would ever trust him again. The fact that he had injected something into Ella, even if it was medication, just roused my suspicion even more. "Have you seen Ella's arm?" I asked randomly. My mom had slept day and night ever since she got back from Hawaii. I knew she hadn't seen her arm, but I wanted her to know why I was concerned. "Is she okay?" Mom asked with alarm. "She's okay, but her arm is bruised. I asked her what happened. I think she had a panic attack. She said Jeb gave her some medication to calm her down, an injection." I clarified. "Why would he do that? Ella can swallow a pill." She wondered out loud, verbalizing the same suspicion I had. "I was hoping that you would know why." I offered. She shook her head, unable to provide an answer. "I'll talk to her." Mom replied. "On the up side, he's been making sure that she's been getting to school and helping her cook dinner." I replied not wanting to worry my mom so much after just waking up. "That was nice of him. Jeb really isn't such a bad guy, Max. I know he hurt you guys a lot, but I think there's more to than the story than you know." She hinted. "Maybe he can tell us the whole story the next time we have show and tell at school. I can't wait to tell everyone 'this is my dad, the evil scientist who held me captive in a dog crate.'" I replied bitterly. "Honey, I understand. I just think you should talk to him at some point." She said. "Maybe" I said being non-committal.

"So, Brigid's been around too?" Mom asked. "Yeah." I replied, not really wanting to talk about it. I still didn't know how much we could trust her after seeing her with Chu. I didn't know why but something inside told me not to share this information with my mom. The only people I had told were the flock. Jeb must have figured it out for himself somehow. "You're okay with that?" Mom asked suspiciously. I looked at her, assessing what she knew. "I can tolerate her. For now." I answered honestly. "What about Fang?" she asked. Panic shot through me. Why would Fang care if Brigid were around? It's not like they had a past or anything. Right? "Huh?" I asked. "It's okay with you for her to be around Fang?" Mom asked, knowing me better than I ever thought she could. "Ella told me about what happened in Hawaii." She replied. "We've had this talk before, Max. Just be careful. I trust Fang. I don't trust Brigid. I know you're a smart girl. I just don't want you to get hurt." She said. It was so weird, having someone else to look after me. I was so used to doing it myself that it was odd to hear the words coming out of her mouth. "Thanks, Mom. I don't trust her either. She's still around for a reason though. And I'm going to find out why." I resolved. "You never rest, do you Max?" she asked in amazement. "There is none for the wicked, Mom. I'm glad you're feeling better." I said putting my arm around her shoulder. "Thanks, honey. I am going to go lay down for a little bit. My energy's still kind of low. I'm here if you need me though." She said.


	7. Chapter 7

**If you think I own Maximum Ride or any of the characters involved you are mistaken. See: James Patterson.**

I wanted to go meet up with the flock, but something just told me to go check on Judas…I mean Jeb. I walked up to the door of the office. It was cracked, not completely closed, but not completely open either. One perk of being a bird kid is really good vision. It's even better than 20/20, just like our hearing. Our senses are more acute than a regular human's. These senses have helped us survive a couple different situations and have been really handy, especially for Iggy. It helps him know his surroundings better since he's blind. Of course, the feelings colors thing doesn't hurt either. I focused in on the fine print on the computer screen. I could tell he was reading some sort of scientific journal. There were tons of huge words that I could never spell or pronounce. Fortunately, intense mastery of the English language was not a pre-requisite for being a bird kid. I did see some words that I could understand. I saw lupine, genetic, mutation, feral, and death. I wondered what he could be reading, knowing that it had something to do with his previous work with the school. I wondered specifically if the article had to do with Erasers, or even Jeb's own son, Ari. I felt bad for Ari. He died a few months ago as a result of the genetic mutations that The School did on him. I still didn't know if Jeb had allowed those things to happen to Ari, or if The School had done those things without his knowledge. Whatever he was reading though, I wanted a closer look.

I walked into the office. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone else was in here." I lied through my teeth with ease. "Hi Max." He replied. I quickly glanced at the screen. The title at the bottom of the page he was reading was Genetic Engineering, the August edition. It was August now, so this journal must have been brand new. "Have you thought any more about what I said?" Jeb asked. "I don't trust anyone anyway. No offense, but your advice isn't going to change the way I treat anyone." I replied honestly. "You seem to trust Fang." He stated. "He's never given me reason not to, unlike some others." I said snidely. "No reason that you know of, Max." Jeb replied. Despite my increasing anger, I focused on the reason why I came in. I scanned the exposed portion of the article quickly, attempting to stifle my surprise. Hopefully no shock became apparent on my face. "You know, you spout all the wise words, but you'll never just say what you have to say. Until you do, I don't see a reason to consider you a friend of the flock." I said simply, walking away, closing the door behind me.


	8. Chapter 8

**UPDATE: Just FYI some of the chapter may vary in length. Some are going to be pretty long, and you'll find others will be getting shorter. Hope that's okay, but I'm trying to help it flow.**

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

"Max! Look what I can do!" Gazzy yelled at me with a smile. He flew to the highest point of the nearest tree and hung upside down on a branch. He then proceeded to let go and fall whipping out his wings and floating into an upright position, landing gracefully on his feet. "Wow kiddo! Pretty cool." I commented with a smile. "It's tons of fun! You should try it!" he laughed as I messed up his hair. The rest of the flock was starting a flying game of tag. "I was wondering when you'd wake up." Fang smiled. "We need to talk later." I said quietly. He nodded, suddenly serious. "You're it!" Iggy laughed flying between my feet, making me turn upside in the air. I laughed lightly and started my chase.

"Max, I'm hungry! Can we go back for lunch?" Nudge asked. I looked at my watch, not realizing that we had been laughing and playing for a couple of hours now. Time sure flies when you're not running for your life. "Sure thing. Fang and I will catch up with you at the house. Head straight back though, okay?" I asked. She nodded and I thought I heard some giggling, but surely that wasn't the case if they wanted to live. "What's up?" Fang asked. "Jeb's definitely up to something." I answered. Fang's look encouraged me to continue. "He told me not to trust...well, he didn't say who exactly, but he hinted at a couple of people." I said. "Anyone couple of people in particular?" he asked. "Brigid." I answered. "We knew that already, no big shock there. Who else?" He continued. I debated fiercely with myself. Fang was the person in the world that I trusted the most and I wanted to keep that trust, but what if Jeb was telling the truth for once? What if there was a reason that I shouldn't trust him? Would he try to hurt me? I've fought Fang before, not for real but close enough that I wasn't sure that I could beat him for real. I mentally kicked myself. I wanted to protect the other kids and not let them worry about anything, which is why I let them leave. That might have been a bad move on my part. I shook the idea out of my head. I honestly didn't think that Fang would hurt me. I heard the voice inside my head that I hadn't heard for quite a while. "Tell him." It told me. This isn't my conscince talking either. This voice was from somewhere else, but it saw what I saw, heard what I heard, and so forth. So far the voice had been annoying but hadn't really steered my wrong, so I trusted it. I took a deep breath. "Fang, he told me I shouldn't trust you." I said finally with difficulty. While the debate in my head had last hours, I knew the interaction was only taking seconds. "Hmm…" he answered simply. "Hmm?" I asked with irritation. I just told him that I basically shouldn't even be talking to him and the only thing he had to say was "hmmm"? This is the part where he should be saying "He's being ridiculous, Max", or "You know you can trust me, honey", or something comforting to that effect. "Hmm", was not an acceptable answer. "Has he said anything else to you?" Fang asked. "That depends. Should I trust you enough to tell you if there was?" I asked angrily. Fang looked at me and rolled his eyes. I sighed. "He told me that we aren't supposed to be together and that we wouldn't work out. He said that all that will happen is that the Flock will get hurt by us being together." I told him. "Why would he say that?" Fang wondered out loud, apparently surprised by that revelation. I shrugged, not having an answer for him. Loaded silence between us for a couple of minutes before Fang finally spoke. The look on his face seemed determined, but also hesitant. "There are some things that we do need to talk about and you might not like what I have to say, but we should have everything in the open. I don't want Jeb to be right." He said with a struggle. Oh God, Jeb was right, and it might hurt me more than I know.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Update: I appreciate all of the awesome feedback that I've gotten so far. It makes doing this really addictive. I'm already plotting my next one. I should warn you guys: A lot of people aren't going to be happy soon, but I promise, I love FAX as much as anyone. Just trying to stay true to the ground work J. Pattz had laid out. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. *loves***

**I do not own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End. **

I fought my adrenaline and the urge to fly back to my mom's house as fast as I could, which was pretty fast by the way. I've flown at speeds over 200 miles per hour before, and right now, that wasn't even quick enough for me. I calmed myself down though, remembering that this was Fang and if he had wanted to hurt me or wanted me dead, he'd had a million chances to do it by now. No, this pain would be with words, not with punches or kicks. That made the whole thing suck even worse. I'd taken kicks, punches, gun shots, and broken bones. Those wounds always healed. "Let's go to the desert." He suggested. "Go with him. He won't hurt you." My voice said to me. I wanted to kick the voice. How would the voice know what Fang would do? I reluctantly agreed. We sat in the same spot as we had the day before. Fang leaned against the boulder. I sat next to him leaning against the warm granite surface to provide the support I felt I was about to lose. Metaphorical, huh?

"Max, I know more than about Brigid than I've let on." He began. I felt the urge to vomit from sheer fear of what those words meant. "She's helping Chu flee from his angry investors. He paid her, I don't even know how much. She's been securing safe houses for him, just like the CSM did for us. Did you ever wonder how those stupid robots found us at our safe houses?" he asked. I exhaled and nodded. It made sense. No one else knew where we were staying except for the members of the CSM, including Brigid. "There's more. Remember your assassin, the guy with the gun for a hand?" He asked. I nodded again. "She helped engineer him, working with Chu. She helped organize the attack. Max, she tried to kill you." He said with anger in his voice. My mistrust was slowly fading, and I began to feel guilty for not trusting Fang. "Better to be on your guard. He'll understand." The voice reassured me. I nodded slightly, grateful that Fang didn't ask why. "How did you find all this out?" I asked in disbelief, scared to find out the answer. "I saw Brigid, before she left Hawaii. I went to her room. While she was in the bathroom, I stole her Blackberry. I found e-mails, maps, and notes." He said simply, not wanting to elaborate. Here came the part where I began breathing deeply, trying to remain calm. I could kill her. I could rip her red head right off of her neck, and go bowling with it without a bit of remorse. Was it because she tried to kill me? No, I was pretty used to that. Lots of people tried to kill me. I learned not to take it personally. It was because of Fang. Oh, and then there was Fang. I couldn't kill him, but God I could seriously hurt him right now. I felt my eyes narrow, and blinding rage rise in my chest. I saw the look on Fang's face and immediately interpreted it as fear. That was a look that didn't cross Fang's face often. Had I been thinking more clearly I would have been impressed. "You went to her room…alone." I breathed. "Remember when she called me down to her cabin, while you guys were flying around having a water balloon fight?" he asked. That's when it had happened. That was forever ago! "You've known about this for that long?!" I screamed. "No! I only saw the maps. I didn't know what the dots were, not then anyway. I just figured it out. It was all bits and pieces. It wasn't until Jeb mentioned Chu being on the run that I understood what it all meant. I looked at where the dots were. They were close to all the CSM safe houses, but not exactly in the same spots. She selected other properties in the same vicinity, because they were safe and isolated. Chu is living in them…I don't know which one…but he's in one of them right now. He's constantly on the run. This was his backup plan. He knew that we were onto him and that we could take out his operation." This was the most that Fang had ever spoken at one time, but boy, did Lucy have some explaining to do.

The good news was that this information helped. We could head out, go find Chu, and rip him to shreds, and right now that was what I needed. The bad news was how Fang had found it all out. I had a feeling that part would get worse, but I had to know the truth. I took a deep breath and looked at Fang. "I need to know. What happened with you and Brigid? In Hawaii and Antarctica. Tell me everything." I said quickly. The words stung as I let them out. Whoever said ignorance is bliss had obviously been betrayed by their…Fang like person before. "Nothing really happened, Max." He said, looking down guiltily. I felt my face get red, knowing there was more to the story. "Start with Antarctica." I said, trying like hell to maintain any sense of composure that I had. "Nothing happened in Antarctica. I liked her. Looking back, it's kind of embarrassing. I followed her around worse than Total does Angel. I did think that the work she was doing was cool though. We kept in touch on my blog as we traveled after that. Then we met up in Mexico City and you know the rest." He answered, looking me in my eyes. I believed him, too. I nodded. "So, you never…?" I trailed off, part me not knowing what to ask and the other half, afraid to know the answer. "I never touched her in Antarctica." He replied solidly. I fought the tears that were trying to well in my eyes. He never touched her…in Antarctica. Oh, God. "Hawaii?" I choked. "I didn't touch her…but she did kiss me." He answered, again honestly. The tears were coming, I could feel them. I still tried like Hell to keep them away. I turned my back to him in case I failed. I stood up, getting ready to take off. I wasn't sure for where. "Max, I said she kissed me. I didn't kiss her back, I promise. I pushed her away. I told her I was with you. Please. Believe me." It was the closest I'd ever heard Fang come to begging. I remembered all the time we spent being tortured at The School. He had moaned and grunted in pain, but it never came out like this, not this desperate. "Look at him. He feels horrible." The Voice told me. I shook my head silently. If I looked, I would cry. I couldn't do that. "I believe you. " I said simply, and took for the air.


	10. Chapter 10

**Who owns Maximum Ride? Not I, said the author of this story. **

Just because I believed Fang didn't mean that I wasn't hurt, angry, sad, upset, betrayed. I said I don't like talking about my feelings, I swear, I really don't. You caught me at a bad time. I'd survived worse. I'd been betrayed by my father. I'd killed my own brother (even though he was brought back from the dead by evil scientists). I'd given up Iggy to his real parents (even though he came back too). I had been replaced by a clone, stuck in a gooey sleep chamber and fought my way out. I had survived worse and I would survive this. I wanted Fang and me to survive it in one piece though. Right then, I wasn't sure if that could happen. I did the only thing I could do at that point. I flew back to my mom's house. I knocked on her bedroom door. She saw the tears in my eyes as she lay in her bed watching soap operas. Boy, my life could make those things look like a Martha Stewart commercial. I closed the door behind me and crawled into bed with my mom.

I had never felt so drained before, even after the gooey hibernation tank thingie. I woke up a couple of hours later, my face stained with dried tears. I looked up at my mom who had been petting my hair. "Did you know?" I asked. "I had an idea. I'm still not sure what exactly…but I knew something had happened." She answered sadly. "She kissed him. In Hawaii." I told her quietly. It wasn't as hard to say as I thought it would have been, maybe because of how he responded. All the anger, hurt, and sadness over the situation, it had gone away for now, probably because I didn't have the energy to feel that right now. I was a hollow shell who could only repeat the information I'd been told. I had a feeling all those feelings would come back when I saw Brigid again. I felt the heat rise to my face, in response. Oh, those feelings would be back alright. "Honey, I'm so sorry. She can't be trusted. I'll talk to John and Jeb. She'll be dismissed from the CSM. I'll kick her out of the house, she'll never step foot in here again." My mom promised me muttering into my hair. I shook my head. I looked at her. "Mom, she's helping Chu. I need her to find him. I can't let her know."I spat bitterly. My mom's eyes widened. "Max, that's all the more reason that she shouldn't be here!" My Mom exclaimed. "We can't let her know that we know, Mom. She's the only connection that I have to Chu. We just have to be really careful about what we say around her." I replied, scheming. "Honey, do you really have to do that? Let the crooks find him…let him get what he deserves…" she trailed off. My mom is full of love, and caring, and compassion. To hear her say that Chu deserved to die…I shivered thinking of what she suffered, further fueling my anger. "I'm going to get him, Mom and I'm going to use Brigid to do it." I vowed.

I walked out of my mom's room, heading for the coffee maker even though it was only 2 in the afternoon. "Max! You're awake!" Nudge squealed with a smile. The smile faded when she saw my face, pale and tear streaked. "Max? Are you okay?" She asked. "I'm fine, honey. I just need some coffee to wake up." I said, putting on that fake smile. The Flock knew me pretty well. Nudge knew it was fake, but was smart enough not to ask why I had been crying. Angel, Gazzy, and Iggy sat in the living room watching television. "I want to watch Finding Nemo!" Angel screamed loudly. "We're watching Rush Hour!" Gazzy yelled back. I walked into the room to see them arguing. They stopped when they saw me. I continued walking through the living room out of the door, closing it behind me. I heard the arguing commence as I continued to the front porch. Jeb was waiting for me outside. "I'm sorry, honey. But do you believe me now?" He asked, hopefully. I felt my chest swell with disgust. "You know, if you want me to believe you, just come clean. About everything. Tell me about why you took us from The School! Tell me about what happened to Ari! Tell me what you know about Chu! And tell me why you injected my sister with drugs!" I screamed letting all of the anger out. Jeb's eyes widened, apparently shocked by how much I knew. Inside I smiled a little bit, feeling proud of myself, but my exterior was stone. I ran and jumped into the air expanding my wings. I have to admit, it was a pretty impressive exit.

I found Fang a couple of minutes later. He was sitting in a pine tree, his back to the trunk supporting him. I flew up to the branch, landing gracefully on the balls of my feet. "I'm sorry." He said simply. I shrugged. He looked me in the eyes. "I can deal with the kiss. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me." I answered. "Did you see how you reacted this afternoon?" he asked. I glared at him. "I didn't mean it that way. I was…I didn't want to lose you over Brigid. She's nothing compared to you, you know?" he half-smiled. Damn, he was a charmer. But he was my charmer and I wanted to make this work. "Total honesty. From here on out, got it?" I asked. He stood up. "Really? You're over it?" he asked incredulously (I'll take adjectives for $400 please, Alex). "I'm not over it, I'll deal with it." I clarified. He smiled wrapping his arms around my waist. He gauged my reaction as he lowered his face to kiss me. I was hesitant, but apparently my face conveyed approval. His lips met mine, sweet this time. "I…Thanks." He said when we broke apart. "Well, we're all about honesty from here on out right? I have info that I need you guys to know. Flock meeting tonight, after everyone else goes to bed. Meet up here at midnight. Let the guys know too." He nodded in agreement.


	11. Chapter 11

**UPDATE: Just FYI some of the chapter may vary in length. Some are going to be pretty long, and you'll find others will be getting shorter. Hope that's okay, but I'm trying to help it flow. **

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

When we got back to my mom's Ella had gotten back from school. She and Iggy were already in the kitchen working on dinner when we walked in. I noted the look of shock on Jeb's face as Fang and I walked in holding hands. I smiled that same little smile inside, not showing my satisfaction on the outside. I loved proving Jeb wrong. I went to the kitchen to grab a soda. "I think the sauce is too sweet. I think we should add another can of tomatoes. What do you think?" Iggy asked, offering the sauce to Ella on a wooden spoon. He was holding it up for her to taste. Ella took a taste of the sauce and blushed red when she saw me watching. What in the Hell was going on around here? "Yeah. Just a small can though. Not one of the big ones." Ella spoke still pink from blushing. I shook my head and sat on the couch next to Fang. He looked at me curiously. "Tell you later." I whispered. Was Iggy making moves on my sister? Was Ella okay with that? All of a sudden I couldn't wait for girl talk tonight. Scary, huh?

John and the one whose name I can't even bring myself to say came over for dinner. "Fang, I secured a site for the CSM. Is there any chance you can help me set it up?" John asked over dinner. He nodded in agreement. Fang had never set up a website before but he's good with computers. He could figure it out. "Can I start working on the shirts now?" Nudge asked excitedly. She seemed much more enthusiastic about her part of the project now that she knew others like the idea. "Sure. The sooner we get this going the better." John answered. I contemplated other ways that the rest of us could help. "Gazz, Angel, and I will make some flyers. We'll go around town and post them up to get the word out. Jeb, is there anything you can do to advertise to the scientific community? I mean, the part of it that doesn't want to kill us?" I specified before his imagination got the best of him. His face looked even more morose as I asked. "I'll check my rolodex for the non-evil guys and get back to you." He bit back sarcastically. Apparently, sarcasm, like the ability to lie was also genetic. "I have some contacts that may be helpful sweetheart. Jeb and I can go through them tomorrow." My mom said simply taking another bite of lasagna. "You still need to rest, Mom. We can give that a couple of days." I countered. "We can contact environmental organizations, and animal rights agencies. We can ask them to provide flyers to their benefactors to provide support." Brigid suggested. "I don't know what benefactors are but as long as they won't try to kill us, let's get on that." I answered. "Good thinking, Brigid." I smiled. I may as well have sliced open my own arm and watched myself bleed. Being nice to her was like ripping my own heart out of my chest and having Angel bounce on it with a pogo stick. I felt the rest of the table look at me, their mouths at least partially open in surprise. But devil-bitch took it just the way I wanted her too. I had started phase one of the plan I had just made up. "Thanks Max. That means a lot." She smiled. I smiled back the sweetest smile that I could muster and tried not to gag.

Fang and I did the dishes, as the younger kids had done them the night before. The rest of the Flock continued with their Jeopardy ritual like the night before. I kept reviewing my plan in my head, trying to talk myself out of it. Surely there had to be another way, but I couldn't think of any other. I was going to do the most painful thing that I had ever done in my life. Yes, I had tried to saw my arm open with a shell to remove a computer chip. I had left my mother and sister multiple times now, sometimes without saying good-bye, and wondering if I would ever see them again. I lived with the guy that I loved more than anything for fourteen years without ever saying a word. Yes, this would be harder. "Are you okay?" Fang asked worriedly. I smiled again, nodding, sucking up tears. I would need them for later anyway. "I'm fine." I lied like a cheap fur rug and began scrubbing another plate.


	12. Chapter 12

***Author's Note: I promise I do read reviews, and as a matter of fact I love them! As I am a newb at this though, I can't figure out how to double space like some have requested. Feel free to let me know! I should warn all you Faxers, you may not like the next couple chapters, but hang in there! I'm a shipper too! :-)**

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

Ella and I "went to bed" around 10. We stayed up for an hour chatting before I had to pretend to sleep. I couldn't wait until I got to do it for real. This was going to be the longest, hardest day that I have ever lived. "Are you okay, Max? You seem kind of down?" Ella asked sweetly. "I'm find sweetie. I'm just really tired, but I'm not ready to go to sleep yet. Tell me about your day." I distracted her before I had to lie anymore. "It was a pretty good day. I turned in my paper on Hamlet. I'm so glad that is over. I liked the story and all but writing 6 pages on it was really hard." She complained. I wish I had those kinds of complaints. "I bet it was. I'm sure you did great though. What else did you do?" I pressed her to continue. "Umm…I turned in my Algebra homework for the week. I finished it early so that I can spend more time with you guys!" She smiled. I thought about that, wondering what Ella and I could do together, like sisters. Maybe we could go to the mall, or go to a movie or something. I was going to need some support. A lot of people weren't going to like me in the next few days. "Oh! And this boy, Jonathan asked me out today!" She squealed. "No way!" I exclaimed, exaggerating my interest. "Is he cute? What did you say?" I asked, grateful that the natural course of conversation led me where I needed to go anyway. Ella looked down, shying away. So far, my theory was proving correct. "He is really cute, but I told him no." She answered. For the record, working undercover is way harder than simply interrogating someone for information. If this had been an eraser, I could have pummeled him, tortured him, let him bunk with Nudge, and permit Gazzy to have his way with him after a couple of bean burritos, making suicide seem like an awfully appealing option. The point is, eventually he would crack and I would have gotten the intel that I needed. I couldn't be so direct with Ella. It was a little more…unethical. "If he was cute why did you say no, El?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound too intrusive. This is the kind of stuff that you talk about during girl talk, right? Help me out, I'm a rookie at this. "He is really cute Max…but I think my friend Danielle likes him." Ella piped up. Apparently lying isn't as genetic as I had thought. I had seen my mom do it, but it must have skipped a generation because Ella was horrible at it. Then again, I probably wouldn't be as good either without those pesky life or death situations. "Oh, okay." I accepted for a moment, buying time before I pressed my issue. "Is there another boy that you like?" I asked her, arching my eyebrows like I had seen the Flock do to me when they first started asking about Fang and me. My heart started hurting again. Ella's face turned bright red, and I immediately knew the answer. "What makes you think that?" Ella asked, her eyes downturned again. "Oh, I was just wondering. You used to talk about Shaw and Chase. I didn't know if there was someone else you might like more than Jonathan." I added innocently, praying Ella took the bait. She hesitated for a moment. I saw the wheels turning in her head, as she debated whether to tell me the truth or not. "There is another guy I like more, but I don't know if he likes me." She shrugged. Bingo! I was almost 100 percent sure I knew who that guy was and I was almost 100 percent sure that he liked her back. I smiled, wishing I could tell her, but it wasn't my place. As big of a pain in the ass as Iggy could be, it wasn't my place to rat him out to my sister. I was not Cupid that was for sure. "Sweetheart, he would be an idiot not to like you back." I said, letting honesty spew for the first time in what seemed like ages. Lying to your family was harder than lying to other people. I wondered how Jeb did it all the time. I would need to find out, and learn quick.


	13. Chapter 13

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

The Flock met at our tree at midnight. "You guys, a couple of weird things have popped up. I want to see if you guys know anything about what's going on." I told them initially, waiting before I sprung out all the information that I had managed to obtain throughout the course of the day. They all listened intently. "First off, there's Jeb." I stated, getting ready to spring the information that I had collected this morning, wondering if the others would be as shocked as I was. "I heard him and Brigid talking outside. They were talking about those Krelp things. They're working together on researching them. Jeb really needs the money." Iggy supplied. I nodded my head in understanding. "There's more too, but I don't' know what. Jeb gave her something but she wasn't happy with it. She said that she needed more. They started arguing. He told her that it wasn't easy to get and she would have to make the most of it." Fang and I looked at each other. Jeb had been working with Brigid and Chu. Jeb was somehow getting the money from Chu and giving it to Brigid. "Any idea what it could have been, Ig?" I asked desperately. He shook his head, apologizing that he couldn't tell what item had been transferred. That just reaffirmed my suspicion more. Money didn't make noise. "I found out some things today too, guys. I walked into the office today, while Jeb was reading articles on the computer. He was reading about Ari." I said sadly. The others mirrored my remorse. Ari hadn't always been a good guy to us, but he came through when it counted. He had saved the Flock from a tight spot and spent his last few days with us, or at least some of us. He was still my brother and I did miss him. "They did an article on Ari?" Iggy asked. "Yes. The question is though, who are they." I clarified. The rest of the Flock seemed stumped. "Brigid was the one who wrote the article. She helped turn Ari into an Eraser."

"What?!" Nudge yelled. The birds in the nearby trees scattered. "Shh…" I quieted her. "It's true. She's not the only one though. Jeb's name was on the article too, as an author. He knew about what The School was doing to his own son." I told them disgustedly. "What are we going to do, Max? Do we have to leave?" Gazzy asked sadly. He liked it here, just like the rest of the kids. Compared to New York subway tunnels and houses controlled by crazy "FBI agents", who could blame them? This is where my plan became important. I ignored the dull stabbing pain in my chest and pressed on. "No Gaz, we're not leaving." The rest of the Flock looked up in shock. We had bolted from other places simply because of some strange new smell. Here we were, living with the enemies, and we were staying put. The others didn't protest though, they knew better. "I can't tell you why, guys. I'm really sorry. You know if I could, I would. You guys know that I trust you with my life, but this isn't about my life. It's about yours. You all are great liars, and sickly enough, I'm proud of you for that. Unfortunately, as good as you are, I'm not going to put you in a situation where your life could depend on how well you can lie. If you honestly don't know what's going on, that ignorance could save your life." I finished, beginning to feel sad. "What the Hell, Max?" Fang started. I shot him a look, daring him to cross me. He backed down. I wasn't done with him yet. Iggy began to protest also. Looks are wasted on Iggy. "Seriously Max. That's piss poor. Why should we even follow you if you aren't going to be honest with us?" he asked angrily. "You guys, I swear that I am going to be honest with you. The minute this is all over I will spill my guts worse than when we raided the all night pizza buffet and got food poisoning. Please though, stick with it for now, for me." I pleaded. They all looked down sadly but eventually put their fists in a pile. They were still with me. For now.


	14. Chapter 14

**I tried double spacing but still I'm a fail** (n_n)P ** Maybe it's a formatting thing, I dunno. Anyway, sorry I can't make that happen. **

**I should warn you Faxers, this is going to be the worst chapter in the world to read, but stick with it, it's worth it in the end, I swear!!!**

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

I wanted to tell the Flock about Ella's arm, to prove even more that Jeb was up to no good. "Just keep an eye on Jeb guys. He's…" I heard Angel in my head immediately. "No!" She screamed mentally. "Don't mention Ella's arm. Iggy will get mad. Really mad." She told me. It made sense all of a sudden. I felt like Angel had been keeping something from me lately, now I knew what it was. My theory had proven right. Iggy liked Ella, apparently a lot. It was nice to know she felt the same way. Even so, I wouldn't intervene. "I don't think his research stopped with Ari." I amended what I was going to say without using Ella's name. Angel nodded with approval, letting me know that everything was in check.

The Flock dispersed heading back to the house. "Fang. I need to talk to you." I said before he flew off. He looked apprehensive. Maybe he knew what was coming. "Let's go." I said, leading him to the place in the desert that we had visited earlier. We sat down on the sand, which had cooled from the crisp night air. It felt good. My anxiety had me sweaty and warm. "Fang, I…" I began before I could continue. Before I could resume I met Fang's gaze. "I love you." He blurted. No, no, no, no, no! I screamed in my head. Not now! I hoped this was all a dream, but I knew better. If this were a dream the knife in my heart wouldn't be so sharp. I prayed I would wake up at any moment. I looked him in the eyes. "I can't do this. I can't keep leading the Flock and be with you. I can't protect them when there's all this drama with us. I'm sorry. My job is hard enough as it is. I can't have any distractions." I spat, turning my head to the side, praying he wouldn't see the tears. My voice didn't crack, even to my own surprise. "Look at me." He ordered. Damn him! Why did he have to know me so well? "Don't waste your time. I'm tired. I'm going back. I'm sorry, but it's for the best." I told him running as fast as I could and diving off of the cliff.

As I got back to my mom's house I saw Angel sitting on the screen porch. She was sitting in the wooden swing that my mom had, swaying from front to back in a slow steady pace. "Honey, you should be in bed." I scolded her softly. "I don't like your plan, Max." She told me. I figured she had known, but simply hadn't said anything. I wish I could protect her like I could the others, but it simply wasn't that easy. Angel had the most gifts out of all of us. That was her blessing and her curse. I hoped that fact didn't cost the poor girl her life. "I don't like it either, Ange. Me, neither." I sobbed lightly. "You should tell him what you're doing. You should hear how hurt he is. He thinks it's his fault. He thinks you don't love him." She cried lightly. "Angel, I don't know…" I trailed off. She glared up at me. I did know, and so did she. I loved Fang, and I was breaking his heart. I was breaking his heart to get revenge on Brigid and find Mr. Chu. I had chosen my role as leader of the flock and savior of the world over the guy that I loved. Without him, would any of this matter?


	15. Chapter 15

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

At this point you must be wondering what kind of amazing, masochistic plan I had come up with (I'll take vocabulary for $200 please, Alex). I was going to be buddies with Brigid. I told you the idea was masochistic. I was going to gain access to personal information by getting close enough to her that I could get all of the same information that Fang had gotten, minus the tonsil hockey. I controlled the anger rising in me to continue elaborating on my painful, yet brilliant plan. Anyway, Brigid would never believe that I wanted to be her friend as long as I was with Fang. There was also a second phase of my plan that I hoped would never take effect. If I knew Brigid like I thought I did, she would try to get back to Fang. Fang was hurting, thanks to me. He was vulnerable and he might take her up on what she was…offering. Even if he did though, he is a flock member. If he gets information from her, I believe he would tell me, if I asked. At that point I could tell Fang why I had broken up with him, but until then I needed him to desperate enough to seek Brigid's company. I needed all the information that I could get and I was going to have to use Fang to get it. The next question that you might have is why didn't I tell the Flock my plan. Brigid was helping Chu, a man wanted by more than the police. Chu would have angry deranged killers looking for him. If the kids knew where Chu was, or could find out, these angry deranged killers could torture them for information that they may or may not have. Like I said, the kids are good liars but these guys would be able to detect any trace of a lie that there could be. I wasn't going to risk my kid's lives over that. If they got captured, they were better off not knowing how to find Chu. Voila! There's my plan in a pretty, gift wrapped, package. Too bad the plan was hurting me as much as it would Chu.


	16. Chapter 16

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

I woke up the next day, walking into my mom's kitchen to fix a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Jeb was at the dining room table along with my mom. They were both drinking coffee and reading various portions of the newspaper. Fang stood next to me, eyeing me darkly, suspiciously. I was ready for my acting debut. He stood next to me, his sleeve brushing me lightly. "Stop it! I told you not to touch me!" I screamed at him. I stormed out of the kitchen, heading for the Ella's room with my cereal. I slammed the door behind me, exhaling deeply. I needed Jeb to know that I had separated myself from Fang. He would tell Brigid and thus my plan would begin. As I sat, my cereal began getting soggy but I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about Fang's warmth as I stood next to him. I was thinking about how he smelled, the soap he used, at least when we got the opportunity to use it. I was thinking about his smile and how I desperately couldn't wait to see it on his face again. I reminded myself to be patient. This plan shouldn't take long, two weeks or so probably. I felt the aching in my chest. I thought about the time Fang and I had spent in the desert, the kissing. Oh gosh, the kissing was amazing. I missed it already. He was so warm, and comfortable. I remembered lying against him, feeling completely relaxed, or at least as relaxed as I could be. His kisses were warm and perfect, way better than that loser, Sam. Sam was like a Saint Bernard, Fang was…well perfect. I crossed my arms around my knees leaning back on Ella's door, glad that she was at school instead of seeing me act like this. I heard someone walking toward Ella's door. "Max?" My mom asked lightly on the other side. I scooted forward enough for her to come in. "You okay?" She asked. I felt the tears pooled in my eyes and nodded quickly as she shut the door behind her. We sat in silence for a moment. I wondered if she was going to ask what happened. "You know you can't fool me, right?" She asked. I looked up at her expectantly, I really was okay. "You can fool Jeb. You can even fool Fang and the flock, to a point. They aren't as clueless as you think though. However, please remember that I am your mother. I know you're up to something, and even though I don't know what it is, I'll go along with it". I wondered if I had the control to keep my mouth from dropping to the floor. Apparently I did as there was no rug burn on my chin. How was she so good at this? I regrouped and nodded simply. "I want everything back to normal, Mom, but I've got to do this." I said. She bent down, kissing my hair. "Be strong sweetheart. I love you." She smiled, almost beaming with pride.


	17. Chapter 17

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

When I came out of Ella's room almost an hour later, Jeb was still at the dining room table. "Fang flew to the hotel that John and Brigid are staying at. He and John are working on the website for the CSM." He told me. I nodded with a scowl. "Max, is there something I can do to help?" he asked. It took a lot of effort not to scoff at him. "I'm okay." I said simply. We sat in silence for a moment until Jeb stood up out of his seat. He put his arm around my shoulders. "I'm still your father, honey. I'm sorry I haven't been the best, but I promise I'm here for you." He told me with a squeeze. I rolled my eyes as he turned his back.

As the rest of the Flock woke up we gathered in the living room. "Okay guys, up and at 'em!" I smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. "Nudge, there's a sketch pad, colored pencils, and that kind of good stuff on the desk in Ella's room. I want at least two shirt designs pumped out by the end of the day. Our goal is to have 5 designs by the end of the week. We want 2 guys designs, 2 girl designs, and a unisex design. Have fun and go crazy!" I directed. The smile on her face was brighter than the sun at midday. She was so excited and I felt so much better, that I didn't have to be the bad guy for now. "Iggy, you're going to be calling screen printing shops here in the area. I need you to put on your adult voice and be serious. Gazzy, go through the phone book and read the numbers to him so he can call. We need quotes. We're going to start with about 250 shirts. We also need to know how soon they can be done. Get to it!" I told them throwing the phone book at Gazzy's head. He caught it just in time with a light groan. "What am I going to do, Max?" Angel asked. "You're gonna be working with me, kiddo. We're designing flyers to post up around town, and anywhere else we might go for that matter." I smiled sweetly at her. We walked into the office, getting on the computer. "Do you girls need anything?" Jeb asked sticking his head in before we got started. "Bright colored paper. The more colors we have the better. It needs to be attention getting." I told him. He nodded lightly and left.

Angel and I had been working for around 2 hours or so when we heard my mom's bedroom door close. I peeked out of the door of the office and saw Jeb heading for the front door. What had they been doing for 2 hours?! "They were going over their contact lists for networking. Your mom has an e-mail list that they are going to use to spread the word about the CSM. She's going to come see you in a minute or two." Angel smiled at me. I forgot about the disturbing lack of privacy that accompanies having a telepathic sister. "Thanks sweetie." I told her, trying to control my thoughts and not let her know how freaked I was. Sure enough, my mom came in just a couple of minutes later. "Jeb's going to Office Depot to get some colored paper and printer ink so that we can pass out flyers. I talked to John. He and Fang got the post office box and toll free number set up and they're working on designing the site now. I also have an e-mail list that John and I will use to send out e-mails to other, non-evil scientists." She smiled, using my words from the night before. I couldn't help but smile a little. "Thanks." I told her gratefully. "And just in case you're interested, Brigid is using the university's library to do some research if you need to find her." My mom added, her smile growing bigger too. I shook my head lightly with a chuckle. "Well, we do have flyers to pass out. That's a starting place." I shrugged.


	18. Chapter 18

***Author's note- Kind of a short chapter, PLUS I'm in the least favorite part of this whole story, SO....**

**I'm posting 2 chapters tonight. Hehehe :-) ***

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

About an hour later Jeb returned with printer ink and paper for our flyers. Iggy and Gazzy had called all of the screen printing shops in town. We had found the cheapest, quickest place to the get the shirts from, we just needed Nudge to finish the designs, but I didn't want to pressure her. She was having fun. Who am I to interfere? It would only take a couple of days anyway. "Awesome! We'll do 50 flyers in each color, pink, blue, yellow, purple, and green. Angel, do me a favor and hit save, okay sweetie? Go ahead and hit print, too." I told her, loading the paper into the printer. Eventually all of the flyers were done and it was time to go distribute. "You guys ready to go?" I asked the rest of the Flock. "I'm still not finished, Max. Can I stay here and keep working? " Nudge asked. "Sure thing. Ig, you good to go?" I asked. "Can I stay here? I'm going to have a hard time finding my way around. I'd rather just stay here with Nudge." He said. Was Iggy really playing the blind card? Yep. He really was. "Ig, we're starting with the university. Beautiful college girls that you can 'accidently' bump into." I hinted jokingly. "I'd really rather stay here, Max. I don't want to hold you guys up. Besides, I should get started on dinner soon." Bingo! That was code for Ella will be home soon and I want to stay here to see her. Not literally, in his case. I heard Angel giggle lightly to my left. "No problem, Ig. We have mom's phone, call us if you need us." I told them. "She gave you the Crackberry?!" Iggy exclaimed in disbelief. I laughed. "No, she gave me the CSM work phone, the crappy old Nokia. She would never give up the Crackberry." I sighed.


	19. Chapter 19

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

Gazzy, Angel and I flew close to town but dropped into a vacant park as we got closer, to take the city bus. We took the bus and eventually made our way to Southern Arizona University. My mom had an office here, because she taught a couple of classes. She told me that if the Flock and I eventually wanted to get our diplomas we could go here one day. I considered that and let myself daydream for a while. All of us living in a house, going to school, living normal lives that didn't involve being on the run. It seemed like such an appealing idea, but right now was completely out of reach. I always liked English though. I read the most out of anyone in the Flock. Maybe I could major in English and be a teacher one day. I shook my head quickly, throwing the idea out of my head as easily as it came in. "You'd be a great teacher, Max." Angel piped up, actually talking out loud. "Thanks hon." I smiled. The three of us began on the outskirts of the college, stapling flyers everywhere. We tacked them to bulletin boards, handed them to people and put them in crowded buildings. You might be wondering, wouldn't adults notice kids on the campus and try to kick them out? Probably, except that I looked more like the students at the university than I did Ella who was only a year younger than me. I am tall and thin, and look older than I am. I hoped that was a trend that wouldn't stick around. While it might be helpful now, I didn't want to look 50 at the age of 25. Anyway, the three of us got looks but most of them just assumed that I was a young mom (not that they knew how true that was), and that my two kids had to come with me to school for some reason. It was actually a little embarrassing. We made our way to the middle of the university to, you guessed it, the library. "Max, we're hungry." Angel complained. It had been a few hours since lunch. I saw a hot dog stand a few yards away. I dug in my pocket and fished out some money that my mom had given me before we left, just in case of emergency. "Here you go. Be careful. If you see anything funny U and A ASAP, got it?" I asked. They nodded obediently. 'Max, I'm convincing Brigid to come out of the library. I think it will help if she sees what's about to happen.' She told me telepathically. 'Ange, what's about to happen?' I asked. She simply smiled that sweet yet evil smile that she had down to a science. "Your kids are adorable. They look just like you." I heard behind me. I turned to see a tall blond guy behind me. He was gorgeous and actually talking to me. "Oh, thanks." I blushed. A flash of red caught my attention in the background. Sure enough, Brigid was right behind him but not intruding in the conversation. She wanted to see what I was going to do. I should mention too, that Gazzy and Angel are adorable but that they look nothing like me. My hair was brown, nothing like their beautiful yellow hair. They were also blue eyed as compared to my milk chocolate colored eyes. You can thank Angel for the description of my features. "Oh, thanks. They're actually my brother and sister." I blushed but held eye contact. "Wow, that's cool you're spending time with them. I'm Jake." He said extending his hand. I saw Brigid standing patiently observing the whole scene. "I'm Max. Nice to meet you." I greeted, playing up the whole scene. "Do you go here?" Jake asked. I debated my answer. "Not yet." I replied, honestly hoping that I could one day. "That's cool. I just transferred here from community college. It's a great school. If you want a tour guide, I'd be happy to show you around." He smiled. He was cute, but was I losing my breath the same way I would if Fang smiled at me that way? Nope. I had to play this up though, for Brigid's sake. "That would be great. Maybe we could grab lunch or something sometime." I smiled with a nod. He seemed surprised that I accepted so easily. "Ariel has my phone, can you write down your number for me?" I smiled. "Sure." He reached into his bag tearing out a piece of paper and scribbling down a phone number. "Thanks. You'll remember who I am when I call right?" I asked, flirting back. "Babe, how could I forget?" he winked, walking away.


	20. Chapter 20

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

I saw Gazzy giving me an evil look as Jake walked away. Angel just smiled. Brigid decided to walk up to me finally. "Max? What are you doing here?" She asked in disbelief. "Hi Brigid! We're hanging up flyers for the CSM. What are you doing here?" I asked, with faux cheerfulness like I didn't already know. "Oh, I was just doing some research on the Krelp. Was that guy bothering you? Campus has security if he was being rude." Brigid added. I giggled girlishly. No, dear readers, you didn't read that wrong. I, Maximum Ride, giggled. I would just like to remind you that these are the lengths that I am being reduced to in order to extract vengeance for my mother's torture, save the world, and make Brigid look stupid. "Jake was being really nice. I got his phone number." I winked at her. Any member of the Flock, Jeb, my mom and Ella would all know that I was faking this, but do you think Brigid fell for it? You better believe that she did! "Oh wow, Max. Isn't he a little old for you though? Besides, I thought you were with Fang." She added. "Oh, I guess you didn't hear. We broke up. Besides, why would I want Fang when I can go out with hot older, college guys? Do you think he has a car?" I asked, channeling my inner Nudge. Brigid shook her head ignoring the question. If she was anything like me she would totally choose Fang over any other guy in existence. I hoped Brigid wasn't anything like me, and so far she wasn't. I suppressed a smile too, as I thought about the age dig. Brigid was surrounded by older college guys and super smart doctors and who did she choose to make out with? My…ex-boyfriend the 14 year old. I hoped that helped her realize what a loser she was. Luckily, Gazzy and Angel had finished their hot dogs and interrupted our girl talk. "Max, we only have five flyers left. Can we go back home?" Angel asked sweetly. Gazzy had his arms crossed and refused to make eye contact, a sure sign that he was upset with me. "Sure thing, hon. Brigid, will you be at dinner tonight?" I asked with a smile. "I'll be there." She replied questioningly.

By the time Angel, Gazzy, and I made it back Ella and Fang were both home. John was also there since he had driven Fang back to my mom's and was going to stay for dinner. "Hey guys!" I said to everyone as we walked into the living room. Everyone was enjoying The Mummy on cable television. "Brendan Frasier is so cute!" Nudge cooed, not even bothering to say hi. "He's kinda old though." Ella piped in. Iggy had fallen asleep on the sofa and was drooling lightly out of the side of his mouth. Fang was sitting at the other end of the couch, with his arms crossed. His eyes had dark circles under them that I couldn't help but feel guilty for. I gave him a small consolation smile, but caught myself quickly. I knew he would notice nonetheless. "Did you finish the shirt designs, Nudge?" I asked her in an effort to distract myself. If you ever needed a distraction, Nudge was your bird girl. "Oh yeah! They're so cool, Max! You'll love them!" she squealed excitedly. "On the guys it has black swirls and on the front it says 'I want to stop the madness', the web address will be on the sleeves and there's a black outline of wings on the back. The girl's is pretty much the same but they'll be on magenta shirts with silver swirls and lettering." She beamed proudly. "Great job, sweetie. We'll sell tons." I smiled back. They did look really good. I have to admit I was a little surprised at how talented she was. She had real potential. "El, do I have time for a snack before dinner?" I asked. My stomach kept growling. I was getting spoiled at my mom's with 3 full meals a day and the occasional snack. The next time we hit the road it was going to be even harder going for days on scavenged food. "Yeah. Iggy wanted to help but he's still asleep. Besides, Jeb said he wouldn't be back until 6 or so. We're going to wait for him and Brigid before we eat." Ella commented. "Cool." I nodded heading for the kitchen.

I pulled open the door to the fridge removing leftover lasagna that was microwave bound. I didn't even feel Fang's presence right behind me as I turned around. He was so close our noses were almost touching. I stifled a small screech and rolled my eyes, muttering a small curse under my breath. "I couldn't sleep last night." He told me. "I noticed." I stared at him, feeling even more guilty as I saw how tired he looked. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I couldn't either. I was hoping he wouldn't notice the dark circles under my eyes and confront me about them. "What are you getting at, Max? I know you're not for real but I can't figure out why you're doing this." He said, pushing my hair behind my ear. I turned around again to cover up my blush. "Fang, don't make this harder…on anyone." I replied. His hands touched my shoulders and started rubbing them softly. I gripped the kitchen counter to avoid leaning into him and closing my eyes. His hands lowered to the spot between my wings and I sighed lightly with happiness. I could feel him behind me and knew that I had to stop this, but couldn't find the will power. It felt so good to be near him again. Had it really only been a day since we touched? I was getting pathetic. "I'll get you back. Promise." He whispered lightly in my ear. I hoped desperately that he was right. I shook my head lightly in an attempt to return to my senses. "How's the website going?" I asked. "Up and running." He smirked. As he was walking out of the kitchen, Gazzy came strolling in for a soda. He still refused to meet my gaze. "Hey Gaz, do me a favor would you? Throw this in the trash." I asked with a smile handing him a small piece of paper that I knew he would recognize. It was the one with Jake's number on it. He seemed confused for a moment but shrugged. After collecting his soda he headed for the trash can and threw it in. I ruffled his hair on the way out. "Thanks kiddo."


	21. Chapter 21

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

We sat watching television in peace for about an hour. Ella finally woke Iggy up and began cooking dinner, steak stir-fry. Dr. Fantastic strolled through the door around 5:30. "Hi guys." She smiled. "Hey Brigid, how's it going?" I smiled back, turning on the saccharine sweetness. I felt Fang's eyes glaring at me. "Hey, where's Jeb? He was supposed to be here by now?" She asked suspiciously. "What do you mean?" I asked, getting worried. It's important to note that I wasn't worried because I cared if Jeb were safe or not, but rather how his absence would affect my plan. "We left the library together. Actually he left a little before I did. He should be here by now. Has he called?" she asked frantically. "Brigid, slow down. You were at the library with Jeb?" I asked calmly. "Yes, we were reviewing samples…of the Krelp mucus." She supplied helpfully. I took the hesitation as 'we were actually reviewing samples of…something I'm not going to tell you about' and waited for her to continue. She didn't take the hint. "Max, he's outside, but something's wrong. He's not alone." Angel interrupted. "I'll go see what's going on. All of you stay here. Do not come outside unless Angel tells you. Honey, listen out for my voice up here, okay?" I asked her gently patting her head. She nodded. "All of you, go into my mom's room. Stay in there until you hear otherwise." I concluded, noticing Iggy edging closer to Ella putting his hand on her shoulder and leading her back to my mom's room. "Is everything okay?" I heard Brigid ask Fang. "It will be fine. Just go." He said, putting himself at the end of the line to make sure everyone made it back safely. "Don't be stubborn." Fang warned me simply, glaring at me as he left. Me? Stubborn?


	22. Chapter 22

**Fight scene! Yay! I wonder what happens next and if it involves some Faxness????? Can't wait!**

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

I walked out of the front door onto the porch, looking inside the silver car that Jeb had been driving. He was the only one in the car, but I recognized the look that he was giving me. It was a warning. I nodded affirmation as he began to exit the car. I rushed toward him to meet him in the drive. "What's going on?' I asked. "Look out!" he shouted, throwing me to the ground. I looked at the object that had passed by Jeb's ear and was now sticking in the ground. Was that really a throwing star? Seriously? I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Jeb looked at me like I was insane. I noticed the shadows of the forest moving as five figures in all black emerge from the forest. "Jeb, is this a joke?" I ask, wondering what the Hell was going on. "Yes Max, I frequently try to have my ears cut off by throwing stars. It's so much more creative than the whoopee cushion gag, as you've matured and all." He replied sarcastically.

There is one good thing about being in a fight with Jeb. All of the tricks that the Flock has learned, we got them from somewhere. Luckily, it was from the man on my right. I knew Jeb could defend himself. I'd seen him fight. He may be a scientist, but I'd seen him take down Erasers before. He wasn't someone that I had to worry about. Jeb and I huddled closer together as the five figures inched towards us quietly. "You guys take too long. I don't have time for this."I muttered, taking for the skies long enough to try to fly behind one of them and take him off of his guard. Boy, was that a mistake. As I tried to fly over him I felt a rope tie around my waist and drag me down. I hit the ground with a large 'Umph!' and felt my head smack against a large rock. I felt my eyes close for a moment, as if I was about to black out. "I don't think so." I muttered, flinging myself upright. I felt a tug from behind me, as the rope around my waist dragged me backward. It was actually a non-lethal, modified grappling hook. At the end was a weight instead of a hook, a plastic bar that must have weight at least 75 pounds. I could overpower it, if I was prepared. Had I been prepared yet? That's a big, fat, no. I eventually pulled myself to my feet as I was being dragged backward. I grabbed the plastic bar and pulled with all my strength. The rope around my waist tightened as I did so, cutting into my skin. I ignored the pain and kept pulling until the weight separated from the rope. The rope fell limp as my feet, and I had a heavy plastic projectile. I turned around, facing the ninja who had ensnared me. I smiled a devilish grin, and saw a moment of fear in his exposed eyes before the plastic bar hit him in the head. He sank to the ground, unconscious. I saw Jeb pummeling one ninja on the ground, wailing on him with all of his fury. It must have been a while since he had fought for his life, because he was letting all of his rage out. He was too busy to notice another ninja sprinting quietly behind him. "Behind you, Jeb!" I shouted just in time. I saw Jeb sweep around with his foot tripping his oncoming attacker. I sought out my next target. I charged straight ahead talking the ninja in front of me at his ankles. Three down, at least temporarily, two to go. I flung my right fist into his face, hearing a gratifying crunching sound. He didn't really need his nose anyway. He recovered quickly flinging a kick to my already sore head. It landed on the right side of head and I staggered backwards. I felt myself attempting to black out again but shook myself to stay alert. I prepared myself for his next attack, waiting, but nothing came. He simply walked away into the forest confused, along with 3 others. I looked on the porch to see Angel, Gazzy, Nudge and Fang ready to tear into someone. I saw a satisfied smile on Angel's face. That was the last thing I remember before the whole world went black.


	23. Chapter 23

**Fax is Back!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!**

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

"You idiot." I heard someone whispering in my ear as I felt myself waking up. "Fine. I'll just go back to sleep." I muttered attempting to close my eyes again. I jolted awake remembering what had been happening before I blacked out. "What's going on?" I asked frantically as I felt Fang grab my shoulder to restrain me. "Calm down." He told me quietly, petting my head. I was in Ella's room, in her bed actually. "What happened to the ninjas?" I asked urgently. "We have one of them captive. The others…well I don't know exactly where they are but they're somewhere between here and the Pacific Ocean. Angel mind-controlled them and told them to go swimming in it. They started walking that way into the forest." Fan told me, stroking my hair. "Everyone's okay then?" I asked. "Well, there is some…bad news, I guess. Brigid is missing." Fang said, hanging his head. I jumped out of bed. "No! She cannot be missing!" I yelled, getting ready to storm out of the bedroom and go look for her. "I don't get it Max. You hate her. Why do you care if she's gone?" he asked. "She's my only link to Chu!" I shouted back desperately. Comprehension dawned on his face brighter than a thousand watt light bulb. He had finally gotten it. "You're using Brigid to get to Chu." Apparently the look on my face was close enough to 'Duh!' that Fang knew he was right. "She's not really missing, is she?" I asked, feeling like the idiot in this conversation. "She's on the porch." Fang replied. "You broke up with me to get access to Brigid." He spoke. "I don't have time for this…" I responded heading for the door. Fang grabbed me by the waist as I headed for the door. I stumbled as he did, leaning into him. I was still dizzy from the hit to the head. I heard Fang sigh as he held me up. I could see the wheels in his head turning, but didn't know what he was up to. "How badly do you want information?" Fang whispered to me. "I broke up with you and sucked up to my most hated quazi enemy to get information. How badly do you think I want the information?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "I can get it for you, if you're willing to let me." He replied quietly. "What the Hell are you waiting for?!" I screamed. "You're not going to like it. It will make both of us…especially you miserable." He said sadly. He didn't even realize this was already part of my plan. I had always hoped this was the part of the plan I didn't have to use, but Fang called my bluff. "I know." I answered, matching his sad tone. "I've followed you for years, Max, almost never questioning your orders. But I will not do this if it means the end of us. If you can't take me back after this, you'll have to get the information on your own." He resolved, staring at me. "Honesty." I replied. He nodded back, waiting anxiously for my response. "I'm sorry. I preached to you about honesty and then lied to your face. I broke your heart for the sake of my mission. I should be worrying about you taking me back." I shrugged. I noticed that I couldn't make myself promise not to do it again though. I felt him step behind me and loop his arms around my waist. "We can do this. Together. Do you trust me?" he asked. I nodded with certainty. "I'm glad you're back." He said grabbing me, and kissing me for all I was worth. I wrapped my arms around his neck while his wrapped around my waist. I felt him lift me lightly off of my feet while my fingers wound in his hair. We kissed for what felt like hours, gasping for air at every open moment, but that still wasn't much. By the time we broke apart, our breathing was jagged and hoarse. His fingers dragged down my spine, making me shiver. My head was on his collar bone, while my hands rested on his chest. "I hate you." He smirked. "Whatever, ex." I rolled my eyes.


	24. Chapter 24

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

I pulled the door to Ella's room open and shouted at the top of my lungs. "I've told you before. Get out! We're done! Leave me alone." I yelled following Fang like I was pushing him out of Ella's room onto the porch. We made it onto the porch before he turned and pushed me. It was so nice having Fang on board with my plan. It was hard not to laugh though. "Son of a…" I began to swing on him to cover up my smile. I felt Jeb grab my arms and hold them back near my wings. "You're so selfish, Max. It's always about you! I'm done with this shit anyway!" Fang yelled, pretending to lose it. Bear in mind, in fourteen years I've never seen Fang lose it. When he finally did, I did not want to be around for it. I had gotten a glimpse at it when he fought Ari, but I had a feeling there was more to the boy than what was boiling on the surface. "Cool it, you two!" Jeb interrupted. "I'm glad you're feeling better but we have a guest to attend to." Jeb murmured to me as if I wouldn't notice the bound ninja on the porch. "You…" I trailed off, staring the ninja in the face. His mask had been removed. His features weren't what I had expected. His hair was dark and his skin a dark, olive complexion, maybe South American. "Who sent you?" I asked, quietly at first. He simply tried to spit at my feet, but it was too slow. My right foot had already made contact with his shoulder. He was falling backward, his head hitting my mother's stone porch floor. "You want to try again?" I asked with a sadistic smile. "Max, wait. There's an easier way." Brigid interrupted me, pulling out a small medical kit from her large, and quite fashionable, hobo purse. When did she care about fashion? I guess since she had the money to afford it, courtesy of Mr. Chu. I saw her whip out a syringe and a vial of medication. "What is that?" I asked. "Sodium thiopental." She answered, prepping the injection. "A truth serum." Iggy replied. I saw Jeb nod in the background. "You inject him with that and he goes all loopy and tells me the truth?" I asked hoping my suspicion didn't leak into my voice. She nodded. "Be my guest." I answered giving her room to get to our ninja. As I stepped behind him, I noticed something on his neck. I couldn't be seeing right, could I? I thought about the last ninjas that we had encountered, robots. He was no robot that was for sure. I looked over at Fang. His chin sank down a fraction of an inch, a slight imperceptible nod. I saw the ninja's eye glaze over and his head hit the concrete again. "What's wrong? Why is he passing out?" I asked frantically. "I…I don't know. This isn't supposed to happen." She said. Jeb made his way to the ninja, feeling for a pulse. "He's not passed out. He's dead." Jeb announced. "You're either the worst doctor I've ever met, or there's something you're not telling us." Jeb said, confronting Brigid.


	25. Chapter 25

**I'm feeling kinda giddy 'cuz I got to have lunch with my BFF today SOOOOOOOOO I'm posting 2 chapters…Yay!!!!**

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

I sent Fang an anxious look. Brigid couldn't know that we knew that she was playing for the other team. "Knock it off. She was trying to help." Fang interjected, half heartedly. Oh Fang, I would need you to be a better actor than that. Jeb picked up the vial that Brigid had used moments before. Sure enough, the label said Sodium thiopental."I swear, I didn't know." Brigid flustered. "Jeb, it's not her fault. How was she supposed to know?" I asked, innocently. Jeb's mouth hung open in astonishment. He couldn't believe I was taking up for Dr. Fantastic. He began to protest before I stopped him. "Brigid has helped us a lot. I know she wouldn't do this on purpose." I lied through my teeth. I hoped Jeb interpreted the look on my face correctly. I was trying to tell him that I knew but to play along. One thing I do have to say for Jeb is that he knows us well. He nodded slightly. "I'm sure you're right, Max. I'm sorry. You just can't be too careful." He replied, a warning for me. "No, you can't." I agreed.

"What do we do with the…corpse?" Nudge asked, a little flustered. The Flock had fought through a lot of battles, but nonetheless we didn't often encounter human corpses. This is one time that I can say "Lucky us". "There are bears in the woods, but they're far in. They should be hibernating soon, within the next month or so. That was code for 'We need to get a move on it'. We found large wheel barrow and stuffed the ninja in. "Fang, Iggy, I need your help to drag him out of the wheel barrow and drop him in the woods." Jeb said sadly. They nodded. "Be right back." Jeb said, running into the house and then right back out. I saw him take an empty syringe and draw blood from the ninja. "We need to find out what killed him. We need to find out what was in your kit, Brigid." He said, looking over at Brigid. I had to hand it to her, she was good at looking freaked out. I saw Fang place his hand on her shoulder. I inhaled deeply, yet quietly. Fang was right, this wasn't going to be easy. Brigid turned to him and broke out in sobs, burying herself in his chest. I turned my back and rolled my eyes. Jeb capped the sample and approached me. "Make sure your mother gets this." In other words, make sure Brigid doesn't touch this. I nodded certainly as the boys started to leave. "I'll be back soon, okay?" Fang asked a still crying, milking it for all it's worth, Brigid. She nodded, making a scene of wiping tears from her eyes. "Come back soon." I heard her whisper. Fang didn't acknowledge her any further and left with Iggy and Jeb.


	26. Chapter 26

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

Nudge and Angel came into Ella's room when we went inside. Mom took the sample that I had given her and went right to the office. John was trying to calm down Brigid. Gazzy and Ella were watching television. "Max, we're worried about something." Nudge said speaking up. "What's up hon?" I asked. Nudge and Angel looked at each other. "The last ninjas that we fought, they weren't human. They were robots. Why would Mr. Chu hire humans if he already has robots?" Nudge wondered out loud. "Because they aren't human, Nudge." I answered simply.

Nudge and Angel gasped. "I noticed something on his neck when we were on the porch. I thought it was a tattoo." I replied. The pair stared at me. "They were scales, like snake scales." I said quietly. "He was a hybrid, just like us." I answered. "Brigid helped create Ari. Do you think she helped make him?" Nudge asked. "I'm willing to bet she did more than make them. Mr. Chu employed robot ninjas, these guys were the real mutant freak deal. Chu didn't send these guys. Brigid did." I replied quietly.

"Max, why is she still here? Can't we make her go away? Drop here in the middle of the Sahara or something?" Nudge asked with irritation. "Hon, please be patient. Just keep quiet and don't say anything important in front of her. If it's an emergency tell Angel and she'll let me know, okay?" I asked tapping the temple of my head with my finger. I saw Nudge's mean streak poke through. She wanted to argue with me but knew better. "It'll be over soon." I said to both of them hugging them to me closely. We both heard a light knock on the door. Ella and my mom walked in. My mom looked stressed. "Max, I examined the blood sample that you gave me. The chemical in his system was Tetrodotoxin. It's a chemical found in pufferfish and some other animals. It normally doesn't act so fast, but given the dose this guy didn't stand a chance. Max, Brigid intentionally killed this guy. It was in her kit, she had to have replaced the chemicals." I took a deep breath reconsidering my plan. There was no way Fang was going to be alone with her now. She could kill him. It took a conscious effort on my part to control my breathing. "Are you okay?" My mom asked. I simply shook my head from side to side and took a deep breath. "Where is she?" I asked. "She's with John in the living room." My mom answered. Then that's where I would be too. Brigid Dwyer wasn't leaving my sights.


	27. Chapter 27

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

I walked over to Brigid who was sitting on the couch drinking hot tea. I placed my hand on her shoulder, resisting the urge to push her to her knees and make her beg for mercy. I'm really good at that. "How are you feeling?" I asked quietly. She shook her head. "That was so scary. First, the fight and now that guy is…dead! He's dead because of the injection I gave him! I was just trying to help!" She wailed. I looked at John and pointed him in my mom's direction with a tilt of my head. "No one blames you, Brigid. We're just all a little paranoid from being on the run sometimes." I half lied. She sobbed lightly and nodded her head. "I know. I just feel so bad." She said between hiccups. "Hey, it's not like you did it on purpose." I said with a light chuckle. "Don't beat yourself up over it." Let me do that later.

We heard the guys on the porch a second before they opened the door. No sooner had Fang walked through the door did Dr. Amazing throw herself into his arms. I suppressed the warm anger threatening to spew from my throat like vomit. Sorry for the visual, but imagine if some evil traitor was rubbing all over your boyfriend. Yeah, I thought so. I snuck a peek at my mom who also seemed to have a disgusted look on her face. She was 20ish for God sakes and he's 14, it is pretty gross. Fang stared at me as Brigid clung to him with an apologetic look on his face. I shrugged. I made a blabbing motion with my hand and motioned the two of us. The non-verbal equivalent of I need to talk to you. He nodded slightly and whispered in Brigid's ear. Even though it was a whisper I could still hear it courtesy of our Raptor hearing. "I'll be right back, okay? After that I'll make sure you get back to the hotel safely. You probably want to call it an early night." I choked down more anger. He warned me. We went into the hall while everyone else stayed in the living room. "Fang, you cannot be alone with her." I whispered to him urgently. "Max, I told you…"I covered his mouth with my hand before he continued. "It's not that. She killed that guy, Fang. The ninja." I told him, making air quotes around the word ninja. That guy was as much a ninja as I am the Queen of England. He was a hired thug with a throwing star. Fang's eyes widened a little, and in case you don't know Fang, that's a big reaction. "Max, I don't see any other way for you to get the information that you need, not now." He replied. "I want Chu. I want to see his face bloody and contorted and in pain, truly I do. I swear though, you will not die because of that. I won't let you. I will tie you to a chair before I let you be alone with her." I said, my face flushing with emotion.

I felt Fang lean toward me. He wanted to kiss me, I could see it on his face but we couldn't risk being caught by Brigid. He brushed my hair behind my ear. "Promises, promises." He whispered. I was momentarily distracted, almost launching myself at him. "You have to catch me first." He whispered while my eyes were closed. I opened them in time to see him bolting for the living room. He had his arm around Brigid's shoulders by the time I made it to the living room. "You okay to drive? I'll go with you and just fly back." Fang told her quietly. She nodded. If she hurt him I was going to tear her limb from limb and that was a promise.


	28. Chapter 28

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

Obviously, I was worried sick about Fang so sleeping was out of the question. I humored Ella and went to her room even though I knew I'd just be tossing and turning in silence. I had made the rest of the Flock go to bed after the dead ninja incident. As she was putting on her pajamas, I noticed the bruise on her arm again. Instead of looking better, it looked worse. I know we bird-kids heal faster than most, but still it should look better than it did. "El, your arm's still hurt." I said. "Yeah, it's weird. I thought it would have healed by now." She muttered. "I have an idea. Let me go see if Mom's still up." I told her, sneaking out of our room and tip-toeing down the hall. I knocked lightly on my mom's door and was grateful to hear her whisper, "Come in". "You okay, sweetie?" She asked, when she saw me heading in. "I'm okay. I'm still worried about Ella though. Her arm still hasn't healed and the bruise has been there for a while now, longer than it should be." I told my mom. "We don't heal as fast as you do sweetheart, but if you're still worried about why don't you go get Ella and come back in." My mom suggested, trying to pacify me. I nodded and brought Ella down the hall. My mom inspected her elbow, her poker face not showing any emotion. I couldn't tell what she thought. "When did you get this bruise, El?" She asked calmly. I heard a slight edge of worry in her voice that not many others would notice, because I'm just good like that. "Two days before we found you." Ella answered. Mom looked at me with a slight nod. "I don't think that it's anything but I want to do a couple of tests. You okay with that sweetie?" She asked Ella, smoothing her hair down. Ella nodded in compliance. "I'm going to have to take some blood from you, honey. It won't hurt very much and it should be over soon." Ella nodded like a trooper, an honorary member of the Flock. I talked to her and tried to distract her as my mom took the blood. "Alright. I'm all done. You think you can go to sleep?" My mom asked Ella. Ella nodded as she stifled a yawn and headed back to her room. "I'm not really tired yet, Ella. Why don't you go ahead and go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." I gave her a small goodnight squeeze and sat on the edge of my mom's bed. I knew she wasn't going to sleep now. "Max, something's going on and I swear, if it involves Ella, someone will hurt." My mom threatened. Maybe that trait was hereditary too, because it was frightening.


	29. Chapter 29

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

"What are you doing?" I asked my mom as she took the blood sample in the office. I knew that she wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon either, so I figured that I might be able to help. "I'm doing a CBC with differential." My mom said, placing a slide underneath the microscope. I hesitated but decided not to remind her that I didn't speak genius. She seemed a little on edge. After the silence Mom looked up from the microscope and looked at me with a compassionate smile. "Sorry, this is kind of stressful, Max. I don't know how you deal with it all the time." She said. I shrugged hoping that it was an acceptable answer. I've been hanging around Fang too long. I've been doing it for so long that I honestly don't know how I do it either. "What did you find?" I asked worriedly. "Her RBC, HGB and HCT are low." She answered. "Is that bad?" I asked, already knowing that is was bad by the tone of my mom's voice, but trying to get an idea of how bad it really was. "It normally wouldn't be a big deal. She's borderline anemic right now." My mom answered. I knew what that meant. I had heard it at The School. It meant that there wasn't enough Iron in the blood and that we either needed to eat more or take Iron pills. Guess which one I was in favor of? "The thing that worries me though is her arm. I examined the area where it was bruised. I've monitored Ella's health all of her life. Nothing creepy, School type stuff, but I'm a doctor so I can tell when something's not right." My mom said. I nodded for her to continue. "Ella's never had any problems with her blood. Every test she's ever been given came back normal. The reason that her levels are low has nothing to do with her biology. When I looked at her arm I saw needle pricks. Someone's been taking her blood".


	30. Chapter 30

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

My mouth dropped and I suddenly saw red. Someone had been stealing my sister's blood. Why? I knew exactly who would do it and why. Obviously, it wasn't my mom. I could rule her out. That left three people that I knew. I couldn't picture John doing it. He had a thing for my mom. He wouldn't take Ella's blood without permission. It doesn't make for good candlelight conversation. Who else could be doing it? I was down to Brigid or Jeb. Brigid had been with us in Hawaii. She hadn't had access to Ella. She also said that Jeb had injected her with something while we were there. Jeb had injected Ella with a sedative alright, and then took some of her blood. I still couldn't figure out why. "Mom." I said simply. She nodded. "I know. Jeb." She said. I knew the anger that I was feeling was quadrupled for my mom, but she was holding back. I was proud of her for that.

"Do you know what he's been working on?" I asked her. "I know that it has something to do with Ari's death. And he's working with Brigid." She answered. I thought back to the article that I had seen on the computer. I had an idea. "I saw him reading an article, Mom. He and Brigid wrote it. It was about Ari. It was in the August issue of Genetic Engineering. Is there any way that you can pull it up and explain it to me?" I asked her. "You think that it has to do with Ella?" She asked. She already knew the answer. She went to the Internet and pulled up the article. "What does it say?" I asked. "The theory is that the reason Ari's expiration date was so soon was because he was engineered as a child, not as an embryo. It is comparing his success to successes of embryonic hybrids…you guys." She said, looking at me. "Shit." I muttered. "Max…" My mom warned regarding my language. "Mom, don't you see what they're doing? They're taking a kid and looking at how the engineering would affect them. They're using Ella's blood to do it!" I told her urgently. All of a sudden my mom uttered a curse word worse than the one that I had used. Boy, was she pissed. There was no other way to put it. I now knew where I got my temper from. Unfortunately, I understood what she was going through all too well. My kids had already been experimented on. "Where is he?" She asked. "Outside." I answered. I heard the boy's door open suddenly. Iggy popped out. "I'm going with you guys." He said, already dressed and ready to kick some treacherous evil science butt.


	31. Chapter 31

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

Jeb was outside with John as we burst through the front door and onto the porch. My mom stormed off of the porch and into the front yard. "What the HELL do you think you're doing?" She asked, blindingly furious. I shoved her behind me. My mom didn't know that Jeb had been the one to teach us how to fight. I was more scared of him than any Eraser, or M-Geek, or Mr. Chu himself, because I knew what he was capable of. Jeb was taken back. He didn't expect us to figure it out this soon, if ever. "She asked a question. Spill." I ordered him as Iggy flanked my side, also protecting my mom. "Valencia, I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't agree but we're not hurting her I swear." He said, putting his hands up in a defensive nature, trying to back me off. I didn't budge that easily. "What the hell are you doing to her?!" My mother screamed. John turned on Jeb. "Jeb, what are you doing?" he asked.

I saw something then that I had never seen before in my life. I saw my father cry. Not even when Ari died, had he shed a tear, at least not in front of the Flock. He had been distraught but always tried to maintain his composure in front of us. Unfortunately, I guess we were more alike than I wanted to admit. "I just took some samples, Valencia. I took samples of her blood. I didn't want Ari to die in vain." He said through tears. "What do you mean?" John asked. "He took samples of Ella's blood. He thinks the reason that Ari died was because he had been engineered as a child, instead of in the womb. He's trying to find a way to successfully engineer hybrids as children, or teenagers, or something. He's using Ella's blood to test theories." I supplied, satisfying John's curiosity. John looked at him in shock. "We never injected her with anything, Valencia. We simply took blood and modified it in the lab. We're making progress. Nothing definite yet, but it's an improvement. If I can find a way to do this, then Ari's death will mean something. I promise you, we never hurt her. I couldn't do that to you. I know what it's like. I hope no one ever has to go through that. Please, believe me." Jeb pleaded. "You're sick. You're trying to find scientific meaning in your son's death." My mom said. "My work is the only thing that I have left. My son is dead. I'm dead to my daughter." He said eyeing me. I sighed. "She loves you Valencia. I am nothing but a traitor to her. She'll never trust me again." Jeb explained. "I'll trust you when you earn it." I said, interrupting his emo-fest. "You have that chance right now."


	32. Chapter 32

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

"Tell me what you know about Chu." I demanded. "He's the head of a world-wide corporation. He's involved in engineering. That's why he had robots. His corporation made them all. He's been buying massive amounts of chemicals and nobody knows why. That's what you found in Hawaii. Those barrels were some of the chemicals he bought and had used, but we don't know what for." He answered. "What does Brigid have to do with him?" I asked fiercely. "I don't know exactly. I think he's been trying to replicate you. I think she's been helping. I didn't want to alert her. She would run to Chu and tell him everything. She's a liability." Jeb added. I nodded in full agreement. Where was Fang? Why wasn't he back yet? "What safe house is he in?" I demanded again. "Chu? I don't know. He's in a safe house?" Jeb asked. "I don't know which one. It's near the ones that we stayed in. Brigid found them for him. He's hiding in them right now. That's her connection to Chu. She's working for him and helping him avoid his angry investors." I supplied for everyone. "How do you know that?" Jeb asked. "Fang. That's where he's at right now. He's getting information." I added. Everyone seemed to recognize what was going on now. "He's getting close to Brigid to get information. That's why you broke up with him."My mom acknowledged. That was the long story short, so I agreed. "Brigid knows where Chu is then?" Jeb asked again confirming. I nodded. "Hopefully, Fang knows by now too." I added. "Max, he took my Blackberry. Do you have any idea why?" My mom asked. A smile spread across my face. He was taking Brigid for everything that she was worth.


	33. Chapter 33

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

***Fang's POV***

I felt like such an asshole. There was no other way to put it. I loved Max but here I was in a hotel room with another girl. Brigid, to be exact. Don't go all perverted on me people. She was taking a shower. She said it would make her feel better. I said that I would "stand guard" and wait in the hotel room until she was done. As soon as I heard the water running I took her Blackberry off of her night stand. I connected the two with the cable and started the file sharing. It took a couple of minutes but eventually I had everything on Brigid's phone onto Dr. Martinez's. I had telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, maps, scientific data, everything. I couldn't help but smile to myself, feeling a little pleased. I even had Brigid's bank account information. Hmmm….I couldn't help but smile even more about that, especially when I saw the amount in her account. Most of it had undoubtedly come from Chu. Dr. Martinez, John and Jeb were definitely not living like this. I would have to revisit this information when I wasn't in the room with a psychotic evil scientist who liked to kill ninjas with puffer fish poison. I shook my head unable to believe the statement I had just made in my head.

I kept wishing it was Max in the other room taking a shower. I almost let myself daydream about that. The two of us together in a room with a big comfy bed and a warm shower… I felt myself getting distracted from the task at hand. I thought about it for a second but I shook my head again, trying to get back in the game. These were not the thoughts to have while I was trying to narrate a story and obtain information from an evil scientist. I needed to be able to think quickly and be on top of things. I didn't want to be here anymore. I have what I need. I should have just left, but I didn't. That would look suspicious. I heard the water stop.

A few minutes later Brigid came out…in a pair of boy shorts and skimpy tank top. Her hair was wet from the shower. I have to admit, as much as I loved Max, Brigid could be tempting. Annoying, but tempting. It took me a second to remember that she had tried to kill my girlfri…Max. I couldn't even call her my girlfriend, it was more than that. "Thanks for staying. I really appreciate it." She said sitting on the bed next to me. I nodded in response. It seemed the safest way to go. "So you and Max, you're really done huh?" she asked innocently. "Yeah, we really are. I would just bail but the younger kids need me. Max can be a little rough on them at times." I said, hoping she was buying it. "I could see that. You two weren't right for each other anyway. It never would have worked. It would have just ended up hurting the younger kids eventually and I know you don't want that. You're so good with them." She said, smiling brightly at me and playing with my hair. Apparently chicks dig the hair. I shrugged. Again, it was probably the safest way to go. "Do you have to go? Tonight, I mean. Can you just…stay here?" She asked. I tried to smolder. I have a feeling, I failed. Had I looked at Max that way, she probably would have laughed at me. Brigid was a different story. She bought it hook, line, and sinker. I saw her inch toward me, leaning in. She was beautiful. I don't know what happened, but somewhere in all this I stopped thinking. I started thinking again when I felt Brigid's mouth under mine. That was no good. I broke apart from her, not really remembering how the kiss had happened, but hoping that leaving now would be a graceful exit. "I can't. I have to go make sure everything is okay at Dr. Martinez's house." I said, standing up to leave. "You have to run back to Max. You have to go take care of Max! I can't believe it! By the way, you guys weren't even broken up for a day when she started flirting with some other college boy, getting his number in front of me! I can't believe you'd go running back to her after that!" she yelled. "Brigid, this really isn't the time." I said, looking out the window. "Why? Let me guess, you're not over her yet or something?" she asked snidely. I rolled my eyes. "I'll worry about Max later. We need to worry about getting over these robots first." I said, pointing out the window.


	34. Chapter 34

**I still don't own Maximum Ride. James Patterson does. The End**

***Fang's POV***

"Stay inside. Lock the door. Don't open it until I tell you to." I told her. She nodded obediently. I looked outside. There were only twelve of them. I was willing to bet that they had been sent for Brigid and that I hadn't been factored into this plan. I stormed out of the door hearing the dead bolt click behind me. It was time to go to work. I shot up into the air quickly and dove downward just as fast, plowing into one of them. I pushed him forward, into the one behind him like dominoes. They crashed together with a loud "Bang!" and a splash of sparks. I grabbed the one closest to me by the neck, pushing his head back with my other hand, decapitating it with a karate chop. The one behind it stood up and I kicked it into the tree behind him. His robot head sank down lifelessly. Lame, but that's robot humor for you. Three of them were walking towards me menacingly as the others seemed to look around, confused. They were looking for Brigid. I saw an opportunity a few feet away. I flew around the three quickly in a circle to make sure I had their attention. In the process I also got the attention of two others. I had five of them total gunning for me. Sweet. I floated a few feet in the air where they could still reach me if they tried. I kept backing up. These robots sure were stupid. They were hardly even a fight. They were so focused on me that they didn't even realize that they had walked into a lake. I heard electrical noises and buzzing as they began to fry. I couldn't help but laugh.

I turned my attention to the two remaining. I kicked another one in the neck and his head snapped to side with a sharp snap, falling to the ground. I focused on the last one flying quickly towards it, launching my right fist to its face. I pulled its face to my knee repeatedly until I felt his head smash in like an empty soda can. I threw its body to the ground and kicked it until all of my frustration had left. I rushed back up to Brigid's room before reinforcements made it. "We gotta go. Now." I told Brigid. She nodded in agreement, grabbing her purse. If she wanted to live to see another day she would need a piece of advice before we left. "And put some clothes on."


	35. Chapter 35

**Merry Early Christmas guys! Don't know if I'll get a chance to update tomorrow, but hopefully I will. Hope you enjoy! Oh and I should warn you…BIG surprise coming up in a couple of chapters. If it starts getting too OOC let me know? Thanks and tons of love!!!**

***K***

**Do I own Maximum Ride? Negative! Do I own Blackberry? Nope. Do I own A Blackberry? Sadly, still no…Oh well.**

***Fang POV***

After Brigid had gotten ready we piled into her car. Were all of these things so uncomfortable? Flying was definitely my preferred mode of transportation. "Those things were after you. Why?" I asked, pretending I didn't know to see if she would 'fess up. "I…don't know." She stuttered. You couldn't say I didn't give her a chance. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when we got back to Dr. M's house and Max got the info that she needed. I was pretty sure whatever happened would suck for Brigid, but I didn't want her dead either. Max and I might have to talk about it. Maybe we could send Brigid back to Antarctica or something, where she would be safe from Chu and out of our lives forever. That was a nice thought.

***Max's POV***

I saw Brigid's car pull into my mom's driveway. Half of me was excited. Fang was back! I saw him in the passenger's seat and he looked safe, annoyed but in no mortal danger. The bad news was Brigid was back too. I sighed to myself and felt everyone else looking at me. The pair got out of the car and I had to restrain myself from rushing to him and flinging myself at him. He wasn't dead! Brigid hadn't killed him or held him hostage! She wasn't on to him, at least that I could tell. "M-Geeks came after Brigid." Fang said. I did my best not to shrug and ask who cared, but I wasn't sure if we had what we needed yet. I saw my mom make eyes at Brigid, waiting to tear her apart for what she had helped do to Ella. She saw my glance and nodded, that she wouldn't do anything yet. "I need to talk to you." I replied to Fang coldly, maintaining our façade in case he didn't have what we needed. We walked into the living room. As soon as the door had shut I felt Fang's arms around my waist and his mouth at mine. I was literally breathless and I was ecstatic about it. My fingers curled in his hair and his hands cupped my face, brining me closer, if that were at all possible. We were definitely happy to see each other. As we broke apart, our heads leaned against each other as we both tried to catch our breath. I felt his hand sink into the back pocket of my jeans, putting in a Blackberry. I smiled at him brightly. He returned my enthusiasm with a smirk.


	36. Chapter 36

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays guys!!**

**I own nothing, especially not Maximum Ride. **

I sauntered onto the porch, holding Fang's hand tightly. I walked up to Brigid and stared her down. I could see her trembling lightly. "You know, for a doctor you're pretty stupid" I told her. She glared at me angrily. "You think you're so high and mighty, Maximum Ride! You're the idiot! You don't even know what he was doing an hour ago." She shot back nastily. I could help but laugh out loud. "I know exactly what he was doing an hour ago and I have the Blackberry to prove it." I smiled. Brigid had finally realized that she had been taken for the idiot that she was. "You knew?" She asked Fang, glaring at him. He simply rolled his eyes at her, which made my heart swell with pride. "But you were flirting with other guys! And you were just kissing me!" She turned on us. I lost my breath again, and not in a good way. Fang had warned me it would be hard though. I sucked up my pride and pasted on a smirk. "It was all part of the plan." She murmured numbly. "Everyone needs rest. We should all try to get some sleep for tomorrow." Jeb suggested. I nodded in agreement. "Go. If M-Geeks are after Brigid someone will need to keep watch. I'll start." I volunteered, knowing that Fang wasn't going anywhere. The adults filed into the house one at a time. "Ig, just a second." I said before he went in. "What's up?" He asked with a yawn. "You really like her don't you?" I asked. I saw him blush a little in the darkness and nod slightly. "Then go get her, Tiger. In the morning." I specified. He smiled. "Goodnight guys." He said, heading into the house.

Fang and I sat on the swing on my mom's front porch, holding hands. My head rested on his shoulder. I finally felt whole, like I had my other half and everything was right with the world. "Jeb and Brigid were stealing Ella's blood to conduct experiments on it. They're trying to find a way to engineer hybrids after birth." I told him, filling him in on everything that happened while he was gone. His eyes widened and he stared at me in disbelief. He considered it though and nodded. "I thought your mom looked slightly insane. Kind of like you." He added. I smirked up at him. "I thought you were going to kill Brigid when she mentioned the kissing thing." He said solemnly. I inhaled deeply, while he stared me in the eyes. "Or me." He offered, as if asking for confirmation. "It was hard, but I've been working on my temper." I added, trying to cool down. "Are we on track?" he asked, murmuring into my hair. "Let's just start over and pretend none of this happened. We just need to figure out where to go from here." I said, trying to look toward the future. "About that…I have an idea." Fang said, whispering his plan quietly. After he explained, I couldn't help myself. "Did I ever tell you that you're brilliant? And diabolical?" I asked. He smirked. Instead of telling him how I felt, I opted just for kissing him again.

Jeb walked onto the porch two or three hours later. I was just so happy to be with Fang, I didn't want to go back to sleep. "Get some rest, guys. We're going to have a long day tomorrow." He said, sending us into the house. "Good night. See you in the morning." I told Fang with a quick kiss on the lips. He looked suspiciously from me to Jeb. I nodded slightly to let him know it was okay. After he closed the door, I looked at my father. "You screwed up big time." I said, stating the obvious. Jeb nodded in agreement. "But you finally came clean and I appreciate it." I told him. His head jerked up, wondering if he had heard me right. "Don't hurt my sister again." I warned. He opened his mouth as if beginning to protest, but hesitated. "I won't." He agreed. "You are my father. I always wanted my mom and my dad, just like every one of those kids asleep in that house. Somehow, I am the one who has the chance to get that. You took a step in the right direction tonight. Don't stop in your tracks." I said, hoping he followed what I meant. I didn't feel like spelling out my feelings for him. Jeb had screwed us over but he had also saved our asses on occasion. I was willing to give him a chance, if he was willing to work for it. The look in his eyes told me he was going to work hard.


	37. Chapter 37

**Alright guys! I need your help! The next couple of chapters were kind of hard for me to write and keep everyone in character. If they go OOC let me know? Thanks yo!**

**No ownage of Maximum Ride for me. **

I walked into Ella's room, crawling into my air mattress and sleeping bag. "Max, is everything okay?" Ella mumbled sleepily. "Everything's fine, sweetie. Get some rest." I told her. I heard her yawn and turn over in her bed. My whole world had been turned upside down in one night. No reason or hers to tumble down too.

I woke up in the morning and stretched as much as I could. I had hoped that the whole night before had been a dream. It wasn't. Brigid was still evil. Jeb was still confused. My mom was still furious. Fang still loved me. That last part made the whole day worth waking up for.

I took a shower and got dressed quickly. I walked into the living room to see the rest of the Flock up and around. I remembered that all of them except for Iggy were oblivious to last night's events. Ella had already left for school. I looked at Fang, who looked a little tired and ragged, but I had seen in much worse conditions. I sent him a questioning look. Where were all the adults? He leaned his head, indicating the office. I nodded. That conversation was not something I wanted to be a part of. Brigid had probably slept with her arms and legs bound so that she couldn't escape or hurt anyone. I knew Jeb hadn't slept very much since he'd kept watch. My mom would still be furious over Ella. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen next. Nudge was hard at work with her pencils and sketch pad. "I'm on the last shirt design, Max! If these sell a lot then I'll branch out to sweat pants, accessories, and pet wear! I can't wait!" She squealed with enthusiasm. I felt my heart sink a little. I felt bad that we had to leave, but I needed to go after Chu. Fang saw the torn look on my face as I sat next to him on the couch. He pulled me under his arm as I leaned my head on his chest. "We're leaving, aren't we?" Gazzy asked sadly. I nodded solemnly. "We won't be gone long though. We're going to find Chu. We'll beat the crap out of him, take him to the authorities and come back. The voice hasn't been nagging at me. Maybe I finally get a break." I explained. I was hoping to be gone for two, three weeks tops. "I like it here. I feel safe." Angel said, as if reading my thoughts. That could be entirely possible. "I do too sweetie." I agreed. "What about the CSM?" Iggy asked. "They'll be okay without us for a couple of weeks. Then we'll come back and help some more. Maybe this is what we're meant to be doing right now anyway." I offered. The kids smiled, hoping that I was right.

The office door opened some time later. The adults filed out, none of them looking happy, except for my mom. I swear to everything holy, the smile on her face looked like a smirk. My mom threw me Brigid's Blackberry. "This belongs to you." She smiled. I whistled, obviously impressed. "Sweet." Fang muttered next to me. "What's the deal?" I asked. "That depends, what are you plans?" Jeb asked, making it obvious that he was not assuming the leader position for the Flock. That job was all mine. "We'll leave tomorrow. We'll be gone for a couple of weeks, but we'll be back after that. What are we doing with her?" I asked, leaning my head toward Brigid. "You let me take care of her." My mom said, menacingly. I couldn't help but shudder a little at her voice.


	38. Chapter 38

**Alright guys…big story changing event coming up next chapter. Hope you don't hate it. Let me know. Still no ownage of Maximum Ride for me. **

That night John drove all the kids to the mall before we left. We needed a night of fun to get our minds off of the travelling that we had to do tomorrow. "Hey John?" I asked innocently as he drove. "Yeah?" He replied. "What exactly is going to happen to Brigid?" I asked sweetly. "Honestly Max, I don't want to think about it. I think your mom is going to try and make it impossible for her to get a job doing environmental work. She'll also lose her license making her unemployable. She probably won't be able to find a job in her field. She'll probably have to find work doing something else." John answered honestly. "Like working at McDonald's or something?" I asked, the hope ringing in my voice. "Maybe. There's no telling the lengths that she may be reduced to." He added remorsefully. The important thing was that she would still have a way to make money and survive. "We aren't turning her into the police for killing that guy because it would involve the rest of us too." John added. I suspected that he felt a little guilty about that. "She dragged all of us into that didn't she?" I asked spitefully. He nodded. At least she was going to get what she deserved. Mr. Chu would too.

"Shopping first, then a movie?" I asked the kids when we arrived. They all cheered. We picked a movie and set a time to meet up before we all went into the theater. I bought all of the tickets to make sure it didn't sell out. "Want to go get some dinner?" Iggy asked Ella as Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy went to look at a pet store. Ella probably didn't notice the fear in his voice, but I did. I smiled. "Yeah, sure." She accepted. I watched him grab her hand and hold it in his as they went up the escalator, discussing which restaurant to go to. "You know what that means?" Fang asked, eyeing me suspiciously. I smiled. "You're stuck with me." I finished. He inched towards me and kissed me in the middle of the mall. It was calm and sweet, probably because we were in a crowded place. "We have business to take care of first." I interrupted him, passing the Blackberry to him. He smiled a little smile, obviously happy about our plans. "How much?" He asked. I looked at the number on the screen. "250 for my mom. 500 for us." I answered as we went to explore the shops. "That's generous of you." He offered. "My mom deserves it. Brigid screwed her over too." I retorted. "No, I mean leaving her with that much." He answered, typing away on the keyboard. "It's pity really. Besides, I have something much more valuable." I commented, looking over at him. He smirked. "I have a proposition for you." Fang offered. My ears perked up. "I'm listening." I replied, curious as to what he would have to offer. "Let's take some time off, you and me. The kids can stay with your mom. We'll go wherever you want. Back to Europe, maybe? Or Hawaii? Whatever you want." He offered. I couldn't believe that I was hearing him right. "You and me?" I clarified. He nodded. "Where will we stay? What will we do? What about mom and Jeb?" I asked, worriedly. Fang gave me a look that said 'Are you serious?' I'd blatantly disobeyed every source of authority that I had come across in my entire existence. He had a point. I thought about the last time that the Flock had split up. I had felt sickeningly empty and incomplete, but I hadn't had Fang either. I nodded. "Let's do it." I agreed, beaming at him. I couldn't believe that I was agreeing to this. I was going to leave my kids. Laugh all you want, but that's pretty much what they are to me. But I wanted to try having a life of my own, at least for a couple of weeks. I knew no matter what, I wanted Fang to be a part of that too. The kids had dreams. They wanted to find their parents. Nudge wanted to be a fashion designer or work for Nation Geographic. Angel wanted to work as a trainer at Sea World. Iggy still had hopes of being a demolitions expert, and Gazzy wanted to set a record for the longest fart in the Guinness Book of World Records. My ideas? I didn't care what I did, I cared who I did it with.


	39. Chapter 39

**Alright guys!!! Here's probably the shortest chapter ever but the BIGGEST surprise ever. Hope it's not too OOC. Let me know what you guys think. *loves***

**No ownage of Maximum Ride for me. **

"We should get new clothes for our trip." Fang suggested. I smiled at him devilishly. We walked into a store, buying four pairs of pants for each of us and eight or ten shirts for each of us. I also bought some things for the younger kids. By the time we were done I was hauling bags around but Fang insisted on one final stop. "Wait here." He told me. I had no problem with it. My arms were about to fall off. Thirty minutes later he came out with a frighteningly small bag. "What the Hell did you just buy?" I asked, hoping that I was wrong about what kind of store he had just exited. "Relax. You have the rest of your life to think about it." He smirked. I couldn't breathe. Fight or Flight kicked in. "Nowhere to go, Maximum." He smirked. "Do you want to try it on?" He asked mischievously. I hyperventilated. "No, I don't want...! Maybe later." I compromised. I knew why he had done it. We weren't sure when we would be able to steal such a large bank account again. That didn't mean that I was ready for it to be on my finger.


	40. Chapter 40

**No ownage of Maximum Ride for me. **

We met the kids after a fantastic dinner and went in to see our movie. It was some generic action, adventure, romance thing. I could see Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge a couple rows down. Fang and I had chosen to sit in the back row where we could see the whole theater, just in case. Iggy and Ella sat off to the side away from the rest of the kids too. I didn't want to think about Iggy making out with my little sister. I guess Jeb didn't want to think about Fang making out with his daughter either. He definitely wouldn't like it when we flew off to live out of hotel rooms together. I shrugged a little to myself and turned my attention back to Fang who had his arm around me. He couldn't stop playing with my left hand. It was a little annoying and exciting all at the same time, but that was probably because I couldn't make up my mind. I had never seen him so happy though, and that in turn made me happy too. I knew I would say yes at some point, it was just a matter of when. I knew I could never feel this way about anyone else. I leaned over and kissed him, yes again. I'd lost count of how many times it had been that day alone. I felt our interactions becoming stronger and needier again. I couldn't help but be glad that we had chosen the back row and a really slow movie night. What was I going to do when it was just he and I, alone? I felt my heart speed up and my face flush. He broke apart and I could have sworn that he chuckled. Sometimes I really did think that he and Angel could both read my mind.

John picked us up a couple hours later and looked at our shopping bags questioningly. "There was a really good sale." I lied smoothly. Little did he know that the most conspicuous bag was nowhere in sight, thankfully. 'We'll miss you when you guys leave.' Angel whispered in my head. "Me too, sweetie, but we won't be gone that long.' I thought back to her. 'He's really nervous. He's hoping that you're not mad at him and that you'll say yes.' She thought back to me. I flushed, feeling my face going red. I hoped John hadn't noticed. He looked at me suspiciously but didn't say anything. 'Thanks, Ange. You mind if I have some privacy for a while?' I asked silently. 'Sure. Love you.' She thought. 'Love you too sweetie.' I replied. I couldn't help but think about the rough couple of days we had ahead of us. We hadn't flown long distances for a while now. I hoped the kids could still keep up. I didn't enjoy the thought of the long travel, but at least we had money now to eat decently and afford a place to stay during the nights. Best of all, I was going to get Mr. Chu. I heard the Voice in my head for the first time in days. 'Max?' It asked. 'Awesome. What am I screwing up now?' I asked angrily of myself. 'Nothing. You're doing everything right. Go get Chu and keep helping the CSM. You're saving the world. You're completing your mission.' It told me. I could have sworn the Voice was smiling if it were at all possible. 'Do I have time for a vacation after Chu?' I asked. "Maximum, from here on out, your future is up to you.' It told me wisely. Could it be? Could I really have control of my own life now?


	41. Chapter 41

**No ownage of Maximum Ride for me. **

The Flock woke up bright and early the next morning at 7am. We grabbed our last breakfast at my mom's house that we would have for a while and packed our bags. Nobody seemed to notice that mine and Fang's were bigger than anyone else's. He smirked at me in the hall as we headed for the porch to take off. Brigid was nowhere to be found. My mom said it had been "take care of", whatever that meant. It did mean that we would never see her again and that she was nowhere to be found in the continental United States. I looked at the Blackberry that we now owned to find the dot on the map where Chu had been hiding. I was itchy, and anxious, ready to go. "I love you Mom." I teared up a little as I gave her a hug. "It's only a couple of weeks, honey. We'll see you soon." She smiled. I was glad she had recovered so quickly. I hugged John too. "Take care of her." I ordered. He laughed. "I'll do my best." He answered. I gave Ella a quick hug, telling her that I would miss girl talk. I hadn't mentioned Fang's purchase from the night before. I saved Jeb for last. He walked onto the porch with me. "You're not coming back, are you?" He asked. Leave it to Jeb. He would notice the full backpack. I averted his gaze. "Don't worry. Just let us know that you're safe, would you?" He asked. I couldn't believe he was going to let me get away with it. "Don't worry about your mom." He told me. I smirked at him. "You're on your way. Trust takes time to earn back." I answered. "It wouldn't be worth it if it wasn't." Jeb replied.


	42. Chapter 42

**I'm so sad this story is coming to an end guys!!! I only have 1 chapter and an epilogue left before it's done. I'm working on a follow up to this one and it's a lot more Faxness. More fluff, less action. If you're really into action and you don't like the fluff you may want to stop after this one, but feel free to give it a shot. I still try and stay true to the characters in that one too. I still haven't named it yet but I should have a name for you before I end this one. I'm open to suggestions too, so if you have an idea send it my way. Tons of love!**

**-K**

**No ownage of Maximum Ride for me. **

We took off and flew towards Nebraska. It was a rough, uneventful couple of days. The kids did complain, and truth be told, I couldn't really blame them. Even I had a hard time adjusting to all the travelling again. I couldn't help but be worried, though. Mr. Chu had been moving from state to state every couple of days. He hadn't moved in four days. I was beginning to wonder what was going on. "Still nothing?" Fang asked. I shook my head. "He probably just got comfortable." He offered. We stopped and stayed in a hotel that night, all of us getting baths and plenty of food. We would be approaching Chu's safe house tomorrow. We needed all of the energy we could get for tomorrow. Iggy and Gaz had piled on the fold out couch. Nudge and Angel we piled in one queen size bed. Fang and I were in the other. Before you go making assumptions, like I know you like to do, nothing happened. Not really. There were the usual goodnight kisses and cuddles. I snuggled my head into his chest. Hearing him breathe made me so comfortable I was out in no time. He was warm too, which made it even more comfortable. It would definitely be hard to wake up in the morning, but totally worth it. Sure enough, we woke up in the morning and I had to resume the role of bad guy. "Up and at 'em guys! We're bringing down the bad guys today!" I shouted after Fang and I had woken up. The rest of the kids woke up sleepily, rubbing their eyes and yawning.

Our time had finally come. We hovered outside of the safe house where Mr. Chu was supposed to be. There were no guards. That was our first sign that something was up. "This doesn't look good." Fang whispered so that the other kids couldn't hear. I nodded in agreement. "You have a plan?" He asked quietly. I scoffed. "Do I have a plan?" I asked laughing slightly. He rolled his eyes at me. "Gaz, I need you to come with me." I told my little non-visually impaired pyro. Iggy would be able to identify any explosives better but he would have to feel them first. That wouldn't help us with the not being blown to smithereens plan. "I need you to look for anything fishy, any kinds of explosives or bombs." I instructed. He smiled slyly. "No problemo." He answered. After a careful appraisal, Gaz cleared the building safe to enter. "I'm going in first. When you get my signal, come in and be on guard." I told them. "You shouldn't go in alone." Fang whispered before I left. I looked at him in disbelief. "Yeah, I know." He said, anticipating my reaction. He knew that was wasted breath. I smiled slightly at him. I jumped off of the limb that I was standing on and flew to the door. I kicked it open with my foot and flew backwards a couple hundred feet as a safety precaution. Nothing happened. I walked slowly up to the door.


	43. Chapter 43

***Hey guys! Last real chapter! I do have an epilogue that I'll be posting too, just as a heads up. I'm doing a follow up to this and if anyone would like to be my beta, let me know! I love feedback. Happy New Year too! ***

**-K**

In the first room I saw bits and pieces of smashed robots on blue carpet. There must have been enough pieces for a hundred M-Geeks. My mouth fell open in disbelief. This couldn't be happening to me. I rushed through the house. There was nothing but robot parts littered all over the house, until I made it to the very last room, the bathroom that was attached to the master bedroom. I opened the door "Son of a…" I screamed, punching the wall next to me. Chu was on the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood. As I saw his lifeless body on the floor I found myself becoming absolutely infuriated. After everything that I had done to get to him, I couldn't believe it. Before I knew what I was doing I found myself kicking his corpse. I don't remember doing it, because I had apparently blacked out. I just remember Fang physically restraining me in the living room of the safe house. "Dammit!" I cursed, kicking and flailing. Nudge had my arms and Fang had pinned me at the waist. "Max…calm down." He whispered in my ear. I finally came to my senses, realizing that my temper had gotten the best of me. I felt Nudge loosen her grip slightly. Fang stayed in his place. "It's over." He told me. The look on his face was conflicted, just like I felt. I wanted it to be over but not like this. There was no way that Chu had suffered enough for what he had done, because it wasn't me who had inflicted the suffering. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "Me too." I answered. As remorseful as I was that I hadn't had the satisfaction of making him pay, resolve finally settled in. It was done. I had saved the world.


	44. Chapter 44

**Happy New Years guys!!! Here's my present to you…The last chapter! So sad…**

**I have decided what to name the next one…One week. I'll probably post the first chapter in the next day or so, but I hope you guys enjoyed this and thanks for all the feedback. **

**Good Luck in 2010!**

**-K**

**No ownage of Maximum Ride for me. **

***Epilogue***

The Flock had prepared to fly back to Arizona. As we all floated in the air, getting ourselves oriented to which way we were headed, Fang looked at me. His look was questioning. He wanted to make sure I was still on board. "Guys, we need to talk." I told them. I could see tears forming in Angel's beautiful blue eyes. She knew what was happening. Everyone, even Iggy looked at me questioningly. "Fang and I…we've made some decisions." I said, looking at him. A half smile spread on his face and I knew that I was making the right choice. The Flock looked suspicious. "We're not going back to Arizona. Not right now anyway." I said, exhaling deeply. "What?!" Gazzy screamed. "OMG!" Nudge squealed with a smile, making assumptions already. "After submitting my request for vacation, the Voice has finally approved. We've saved the world and I'm taking some time off." I told them with a small smile. "EEK!!! Where are you going to sleep? In hotels? Together? Max, are you guys getting married? Are we going to have a little brother or sister? I can't wait!! Can I be a bridesmaid? Is Angel your flower girl? Maybe I should start looking for dresses…" Nudge's words flew at me faster than Gazzy could dive bomb into a puddle of mud. "Down, Nudge." I couldn't help but notice the smile on Fang's face, as it had gotten bigger. It hit me like a ton of bricks then. He wanted all those things that Nudge had named, maybe not right now, but eventually. I felt my face glow red worse than any reindeer's nose ever could. Angel's smirk had proven me right. "I'm still the leader of the Flock. But until we come back to Arizona, you all need to listen to Iggy. Once you get back to my mom's house she's in charge, followed by Jeb." I saw everyone's distaste to my appointments. "He's trying guys. That doesn't mean I don't want you to give him Hell. Just give him as much as you would give me." I supplied. I saw Gazzy's face break into a smile, along with Iggy's. They would give him Hell alright. "Nudge, as for the rest of your questions, it's none of your business. Yet." I answered with a sly smile. Her eyes widened. "Iggy, take these." I ordered him. "What is this?" He asked. I handed him the Blackberry. "Don't call us, we'll call you." I told him with smile. He whistled, impressed that I was trusting him with it. Next, I handed him an ATM card. "This is for you guys. There is $10,000 in a bank account for you guys. It's for clothes, food, whatever. Use it wisely." Their mouths dropped open. We had never had that kind of money in our entire lives. I didn't bother to mention the other $400,000 that we had laying around. I didn't want them to be trust fund birdies. "Where did we get this, Max?" Nudge asked. "That's not important sweetie." I shrugged. "Finally, keep working on the CSM stuff. Nudge, I'll be checking the website for new shirts and other stuff. I may even buy some stuff and have it shipped to where we are." I told her with a wink. She smiled brightly. "Iggy, take care of them. We'll see you before you know it. I love you guys." I told them all. We all hugged, and shed some tears, but we knew that we would all be back together before long. I need to have my own life at least for a little while. Besides, if I was serious about living the rest of my life with Fang, then I needed to know that we could live together without trying to kill each other, especially without Angel there to mind control either of us. "Ready?" He asked with a small smile. "As I'll ever be, I guess." I answered back with a shrug. Who knew where we would end up next?


	45. Author's Note!

***Hey guys! I posted the first chapter to the sequel of this story if you're interested. I actually picked a different name for it too. It's called Ruthless. If you decide to read it I hope you like it and thanks for all the positive feedback. It makes doing this totally addictive! *******


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